


The Line of Durin

by kaotic312



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fíli Lives, Kíli lives, non-canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-14 20:12:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 47
Words: 210,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2201550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaotic312/pseuds/kaotic312
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How do you build a new life when you're supposed to be dead?  Three new royal tombs in Erebor, but two are empty.  Kili, Fili, Bofur and Tauriel are on the move.  Now what?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, if you don't realize that I own nothing of these characters ...then that's just sad. This is a work of fanfiction. This piece takes place after the BO5A with a variant ending that is far from canon. I don't speak elvish, dwarvish, or any dialect thereof.

Kili woke up in a condition he had not expected. Alive.

The first face he saw was one that was welcome in the extreme. Oin. The gray-bearded dwarf was good with the wounded. Wounded was good. Wounded wasn't dead. Dead.

Kili frowned, ignoring the pain starting to radiate in from body parts he wasn't even sure he was fully aquainted with in the first place. The image in his head was of his Uncle Thorin, wounded, heroic, dying. But the name that first passed his lips was, "Fili."

Oin didn't answer. It wasn't good that Oin wasn't answering! Kili reached up and was amazed to find that his right arm wasn't answering him. That wasn't good either. Kili's eyes widened with panic.

Someone pushed Oin's shoulder and the gray-bearded dwarf shifted to allow someone else into the line of sight. Kili's breath stilled for a moment. Tauriel.

Wonderment, amazement, and disbelief. He stared. "You, you can't be here. You are far away."

"I've heard this particular poetry before." Tauriel cut him off. "Lovely as it is, we do not have even a moment to spare. You must sleep."

Kili shook his head and then nearly gagged as pain swamped him. Groaning he dropped his head back as his vision swam alarmingly. Red. All he could see was red. Blood? No, his eyesight refocused and he realized that Tauriel's hair was blocking his view. Careful not to move his head any more than he needed, he followed the waterfall of red silken hair up to the creamy star-lit satin of her skin. Bemused he watched her bring a cup to his lips.

The young dwarf warrior started to drink, them went still. His mouth firmed. She'd said sleep. He'd heard her say, sleep. And he hadn't heard the answers he so desperately needed. "No."

The elf didn't react. Oin did. "You bloody arse of a dwarf! Drink this now, we don't have any time left! We're trying to save your foolhardy and feckless life!"

"Fili. Thorin." Kili asked, stubborn as those of his race were wont. His jaw set and his dark eyes showed the determination that he was willing to use to keep from sleeping until he had his answers.

"Your brother hovers near the shadows as you do, and you will be joining the other if you do not take this now!" Tauriel looked gentle and beautiful, and continued to look as ethereal as starlight embodied upon middleearth even as she squeezed his wounded arm and sent a pain sharp enough to make him cry out coursing through his body. Mouth open for an exclamation of pain meant an opening for the healer. Oin grabbed the cup and poured the burning liquid down his throat, then closed his mouth with his large blunt hands until Kili was forced to swallow.

Choking and gagging at the rough taste of something that burned all the way down to his belly, Kili turned his sight away from both Oin and Tauriel. His dark eyes widened with despair as he saw Dis. His mother. She was standing over a litter holding a body. A dwarven body, one with blond hair soaked in black blood. A sheet being pulled up to cover the face. A face that Kili knew only far too well.

Despair crawled over the young dwarf as he watched his mother throw back her head, wailing the song of grief too deep to hold. Balin, that venerable old dwarf, was holding Dis close even as he added his own voice to hers.

Kili fought to keep the blackness at bay, but his sight faded before his hearing. Sleep slammed into him like a dwarven hammer even as he heard more and more voices, throats thrown back as the halls of Erebor sang the songs of the fallen

o.o.o.o.

"He's given up." The words were as cool and smooth as a brook in the mountainside. "Perhaps it was not a kindness to bring him back."

Kili didn't moan, nor did he move. Words washed over him, voices came and went. Painful times came when he was shifted, rolled, tended, or wrapped with bandages. What did he care? Sometimes the words made sense, mostly they didn't. Then again, a lot of the time the words were Elvish, not a language he was very good with. So why could he understand now?

"The lad is strong, his blood his strong, he will return." Deep voice, rougher than anything the elves could produce. Dwarf. But not the right dwarf. Not his brother, not Fili. Not ever again this side of life. Only death would reunite them.

He didn't cry. Crying meant moving, and moving meant life. If he never moved again would anyone notice? Would he just slip past the shadows into the other side?

"Perhaps we should do for him what we did for the other?" Kili's mind recognized that particular elven voice. Tauriel.

The first voice spoke again. Cool, even, Elven. Male. "It would be foolish to move him. He is not well enough. The other was different, he was flailing and yelling. Pulling at his sutures and reopening fell wounds. No, what we did was to keep him from becoming worse. This one is at least still."

"Too still." Tauriel's voice lacked inflection, but even Kili could tell it was a protest.

"It might do the lad more good than harm." The dwarven voice. Bofur. Kili placed the accent and inflection at last. It was Bofur. There was even a hint of pipeweed in the room. Not lit, nothing smoking, but the scent of a lifetime lover of the pipe.

Kili's throat tightened painfully. Oin and Bofur. Two, alive. Two and a half if you counted Kili himself, he mused silently.

"If he knew his brother still breathed, it would go easier on him." The dwarf continued.

Breathed? Brother? Kili squeezed his eyes and flinched. Brothers at arms. All thirteen of them, fourteen if you included Bilbo, which he did. But only one brother mattered now. The one his mother had sung into the Halls of the Fallen.

"I protest this action." Male voice. "He simply should not be moved. When we did this with the other it reopened wounds that should have been left in peace to heal."

Tauriel's voice was quiet, but no less commanding for a lack of volume. "Bofur."

"No, no." The male voice sounded slightly put-out. For an elf, Kili wondered if that was a strong emotion? "Oh, my prince. Good. These, two, were about to make a most unwelcome move."

Bofur cleared his throat and then launched into an impassioned speech on why Kili HAD to be moved, for the lad's own good. Listening, Kili hoped he would lose. He didn't want to move. He hurt too much, inside and out.

Prince Legolas, apparantly, didn't care. He cut off the other male elf almost rudely. "It matters not. Live or die, what is one less dwarf in the world?"

Bofur was clearly insulted, huffing and puffing as he protested. "But, but ...you came to our'n aid in the battle! Well, after you'n all tried to take what ya wanted, but still and all, you'n your kin came to our aid! It was a grand sight it was!"

"I followed the orders of my king and father. Nothing more." Legolas blew off the words as of no consequence. "If they want to move the dwarfling, let them. If it kills him, it's not on us."

Kili suspected that the blond prince had left the room, as he said no more. Instead a pair of elves moved toward him. The first one to touch him got a hiss from Tauriel. That beauty instead instructed the elves to carry the entire bed, so as to jostle him all the less with Bofur jabbering on his agreement.

"No." Kili wasn't sure that he had even managed to speak, or if the protest had been solely within his mind.

The elves slowly put the bed down again. Bofur fell silent for a moment. "Lad?"

Good, he must have really spoken. Straining, he tried again. "No."

Tauriel leaned in, suddenly hovering over him. Even with his eyes closed, Kili could tell when she was near. There was a clean smell, no scent, not like the silly women among the world of Men. This was the clean, clear smell of the forest. It pulled at things deep in his soul, and ruthlessly he pulled away from his own feelings.

"Kili?"

He wanted to explain, he wanted to yell, he wanted to grab her and shake her until she understood, he wanted to hold her. He wanted her to hold him. All he managed was to turn his head toward the wall, away from her scent, her presence.

"Your brother lives. Fili lives."

"Liar." She lied. Hurt and betrayal roiled up within him. How dare she lie to him? He'd seen his brother's body, he'd heard the songs. He'd seen his mother's sorrow and her tears.

"Take him." Tauriel stood up, moving away from him. That shouldn't have made him feel cold, but it did. Soul chilled, his brother would have called it. Like he had when their father had left the world of the living to rest among their dwarven forefathers. Fili.

"No." He coughed on the word, his voice raspy and hoarse beyond measure.

They didn't listen to him, carrying his bed out the door. Weak and weary as he was, Kili managed a snarl and opened his eyes for the first time in two weeks. He might once have marvelled at the beauty of the Elven architecture, or wondered at the soaring staircases and the delicate carvings. Now he only felt hate. Hate that they were trying to make him live.

He heard Tauriel gasp as he tried to roll off the side of the bed, only to moan and cry out as he put weight on his right side. "Stop that!" Her voice grew sharper with command, and he grew more stubborn. Kili gritted his teeth and tried for the left side. But he was weak, managing to get only one leg off the bed. And if that leg happened to smack some random elf, all the better. To his disappointment, he struck no one. The only one hurting was him.

"In here! Hurry."

Kili rolled to the right again, more from instinct than thought. Pain swallowed him and he groaned, curling up bit from sheer reflex. Angry now, he opened his eyes and frowned at the graceful elven male carrying his bed. Balling up his left hand, he struck the elf in the eye.

Unhurt, but shocked, the elf stopped. Unfortunately, the elf on the other side of the bed didn't. The whole bed tilted alarmingly. Bofur made a grab and caught the head of the bed, as did Tauriel. But the foot fell, causing Kili to slide down the sharp incline and onto the cold floor. In pain, and heaving, Kili grimmaced up at them in sharp triumph.

"I said ...No ... Fili?"

Shocked, Kili was lying on the floor next to another bed. One that was occupied. The last time he'd seen that hair it had been covered in drying blood, with the face covered. Now the hair was clean, the skin was uncovered, and the cheeks were ...moving. "Fili?"

His older brother's face settled into a wan smile, no less genuine for being weakened by injury. "Kili. You causing a stir?"

Red hair fell down beside his face an instant before Tauriel's face bent down next to him. "Call me a liar again, and we will have to face off on the battlefield."

"Any, anytime ..." Kili managed, his eyes never leaving his brother. He wanted to reach for Fili, but his arm wasn't working right. he looked at his right side, paling as he saw that it was splinted and wrapped and there were blood stains on the fresh white bandages.

"You opened up our hard work." Tauriel scolded.

Unable to come up with a complete thought, much less a sentence, Kili just blinked at her. Then he grinned widely.

The change in his face made Tauriel blink and an answering smile crossed her face before she could bring her expressioon back into line, falling back into that elvish look of mere observance.

"Thorin?" Kili asked with excitement. "Where's Uncle?"

Tauriel's expression tightened slightly. Kili looked over at Bofur, who was suddenly staring into the bowl of his unlit pipe. Finally, he looked to the one he'd always looked to his entire life. "Fili? Where is Thorin?"

But his brother's own gaze had dropped. "Kili ..."

"No." Kili protested. "I saw you die. I heard the songs, I know you were dead. I know it. Now you're not. So what about Thorin?"

Bofur cleared his throat and took a deep breath. Then he did it again. Finally, he sighed. "Lad. The line of Durin has been severed. You're all dead. Some just more dead than others."

"Huh?" Kili shook his head.

"Brother, there are three tombs in Erebor that are new. Well, more than that. But three royal. Me, you and Thorin. Only one is occupied." Fili's voice sounded dull with resignation.

Bofur sighed deeply. "Lad, much has happened of late. Dain arrived in time to help turn the tide, but Thorin had already fallen. You'n Fili were grave wounded. Dis came too, she saw. She saw Dain's face when he'n his saw the treasures of Erebor, she saw the speculation on his ugly mug."

Tauriel put her hand on his shoulder, Kili gratefully turned to look at her, even as he knew the news would be anything but good. "You and Fili were hovering near death, too near for Dain."

"King Dain, King Under the Mountain." Bofur interjected.

Kili protested wordlessly, turning a frantic look at his older brother.

"If Fili had stayed 'alive' he would have died before morn." Bofur chewed on the stem of his pipe, clearly wishing it were lit. "Dain, well, he likes being king."

"And the treasure." Tauriel added sadly.

"It be Dis, your'n own mother, who made the call. She and Balin." Bofur continued.

Fili laughed without mirth. "She knew we would never survive to take the throne, not even with our bloodlines. Dain has the armies and the might. Balin refuses to serve Dain, he is going to try and take Moria back."

Kili shook his head, even as Tauriel slid her arms beneath him. He protested as she rose with him in her arms. Blushing he protested. "Put me down."

"You need to be in bed." She retorted.

"Joining me?" Kili leered.

Bofur choked on sudden laughter and even Fili managed a weak chuckle. "Boy'n, you are too weak to even sit up. Leave off'n the lassie now. Least we know he's feeling better."

"When do we go back?" Kili asked, puzzled when everyone fell silent. He looked around, a bit offput that everyone was staring back at him. "When will we be well enough to go back to Erebor?"

"Oh laddie." Bofur's voice was beyond sad.

"You won't." Kili's head turned toward the doorway. Prince Legolas had apparently been watching them this whole time. He seemed cold and distant as he glared at the dwarf being held by Tauriel.

The other two elves set the bed to rights as the Silvan she-elf placed her charge onto the newly straightened sheets. One gave a small nod of his head, the other tightened his lips in disapproval. Kili thought it might have something to do with him being the one he'd punched earlier.

"Seriously, how long before we're well enough to travel?" Kili asked again, wondering if Tauriel's hand had really lingered on his neck for a moment or if that was mere wishful thinking on his part.

Prince Legolas stepped into the room, looking as solid as a statue, and with about as much emotion as one as well. "You can leave now for all I care."

Bofur sighed again, wincing as he rolled his head for a moment. "Lad. You're dead."

"Am not." Kili protested, grinning weakly. He really was beat, even if he was elated at seeing Fili.

Fili groaned and took a deep breath. "Brother, for all the world we're dead and we're going to stay dead. The line of Durin is over."

Kili frowned, trying to work through it all in his head. "We can take Dain."

"Dain maybe, but not his armies. Or anyone he has allegiances with. Like Bard?" Fili sounded resigned, and not terribly happy.

"Or my father." Prince Legolas supplied this last bit of news with perhaps a bit of spite in his tone. "Gandalf ...and others ...have bargained for your lives. Not your throne."

"But ..." Kili's eyes widened with the enormity of what was being presented. "We can't let everyone think we're dead. What about mother?"

Fili sighed, balling his hands into fists. "Whose idea do you think all of this was?"

Shocked, even Kili fell silent.


	2. Visitors

Kili said nothing as the elves carried his bed, with him upon it, back to his room. His room? For the first time since regaining consciousness, he looked around.

The elaborate scroll work carved into the woodwork was undoubtedly lovely, if you were an elf. For a dwarf, it just looked incomplete. No inlaid stonework, jewels, gold, or any other metal.

Kili gritted his teeth, still saying nothing, as the elves began unwrapping his bandages. That's when he suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing much more than those bandages. That and a thin pair of shorts. He'd be indecently dressed, if he weren't wrapped up like some present, all that was missing was the brightly colored ribbon tied into a bow.

No, he took it back. He did have bright colors, ruefully he winced as one of the elf medics started to peel away the parts of the bandage that were soaked through with fresh blood. "I guess I broke it open again, huh?"

A quick look, indecipherable, was all he got from that source.

"You weren't nearly as bad at it as your brother." Rather surprised that Prince Legolas was still present, Kili gave him a quick look. "Fili thrashed around quite a bit when he first arrived."

"That's Prince Fili to you." Snapped Kili, perturbed by the lack of respect in the elf prince's voice. Deference he didn't expect, but a basic courtesy? Wasn't the guy an elf?

He could have sworn that the blond elf almost smiled for an instant, but then the moment was gone. "Not anymore. No titles anymore. You're dead, remember?"

"Legolas." There was no chiding or reproof in her voice, nothing to indicate a lack of respect. But the blond prince flinched, very slightly at the Silvan elf's call of his name. Interesting.

The pretty blond prince said something swift in Elvish. Tauriel replied in kind. Kili would have tried to follow the conversation, but his command of that language was probably less than poor. A few words here or there, nothing much. But the two looked calm, as if discussing guard rotations or some such.

Kili winced as a compress was pressed against his inner elbow. He turned to look, and then went pale as a ghost. THAT was what was under the bandages? It didn't look like an arm, it looked like something that had been through a meat grinder. Thrice. Oh shit.

o.o.o.o.o

"You are a Captain in my father's guard. It is unseemly for you to tend to these former princinglings like this." This one especially, Legolas did not add.

Tauriel did not disagree outwardly, that was not the elvish way. Either for High Elves nor for the much more lowly Silvan Elves, such as she. "They still are in danger."

Legolas' mouth tightened very slightly. "They are thought of as dead and buried."

"There are those that know otherwise." Tauriel commented.

Abandoning that thread of thought, Legolas twitched his chin sharply in the young dwarf's direction. "Will he survive?"

"The medics are hopeful." The red-headed she-elf stated blandly, pushing to the back of her mind how her eyes had felt heavy with moisture when she'd been informed that Kili was out of iminent danger. "It remains to be seen if they will recover ...fully."

As if sensing that her feelings for this particular dwarf went deeper than was seemly, Legolas held his breath for a second. Not that he could do anything. They were honored 'guests' of his fathers, and his father's own distinguished guests. Guests that had his father both fawning slightly, feeling haughty, and at the same time ...almost nervous. Guests that he, the prince, had not been invited to meet as yet.

"Your father has ordered them ...protected." Tauriel continued, varnishing over the fact that she could have assigned others to the task.

"Indeed." To call her on the fact that she didn't need to personally guard the two dwarf brothers, was to admit to the fact that he didn't want her so involved. It was a razor's edge of etiquette. "As soon as they are healed enough to move, it will be a good day." An understatement. Meaning, he wanted the two of them gone.

Tauriel nodded, wondering why the good prince was so against their visitors. This went beyond a mere dislike of dwarves, surely. She wasn't so blind that she couldn't tell that Prince Legolas seemed to have a dislike of the race, but so did many an elf. No, this went beyond that.

"You haven't been out in the forest since returning with your ...charges." With him.

Suprised, Tauriel nodded. "Perhaps a day outside would be good."

Legolas subtly relaxed, although no expression dared to show on his features.

"Once the brothers are well enough to be moved, of course."

The elvish prince's spine stiffened and he gave her a long, long look before finally nodding. "Of course."

Tauriel waited, but no more was said. "Do you need aught else, my prince?" Once she would not have tacked on his title. But ever since the King had less than subtly told her to make sure that his son did not become attached, she had tried to politely distance herself. Not that she didn't care for her friend, but he was the King's son. And she was no more than a Silvan elf.

If Legolas was hurt by her use of his title, rather than his name, he didn't show it. But then, she'd expect nothing less from her more controlled friend. Collegue. Leige. Sometimes elvish society was a minefield to traverse.

Perhaps that was why she had enjoyed so much the conversations that she'd had with young Kili, back when he'd been a prisoner. A ghost of a smile tickled her lips. Some prisoner. He'd acted more the guest. He'd been so easy to talk to, and he'd been so eager to listen to her ramblings as well. Ramblings that another elf might consider superfluous or silly. He hadn't.

"Since that is all, I'll take my leave." Legolas gave her a dismissive nod, turning toward the door. For all the world giving the impression that she hadn't picked up on some elusive conversational cue.

Nothing showed on her face, but Tauriel felt chagrined. She hadn't realized that the prince had been waiting for something ...something from her?

"Well, well. I have sticks splinting my arm, and he has them up his butt. Huh?"

Startled, Tauriel turned to look at her dwarf. No, no ...not 'her' dwarf. A dwarf. One of two. Three if you counted Bofur. Or four if you counted Oin, who still came by to check in on things. Five, no four, you couldn't count Balin who only came by once. Apparently he was keeping his distance in order not to call attention to them all. The same with Dis, who was Fili and Kili's mother. She'd been once. An intimidating block of solid muscle and haughty attitude, with a beard more impressive than either of her sons. So four.

"You should not speak so about our Lord's son." Chided one of the medics, giving a cool look at his charge.

Tauriel, reminded of her duty, nodded. "That was rudely spoken."

"I'm a dwarf. A dead one, even." Kili grinned rather palely. "A one-armed sickly, dead dwarf. What can you expect?" On his last word his voice faded into a hiss of pain.

Watching his skin turn green, Tauriel put her hand on his left shoulder. "Breathe."

Kili gasped for air.

Tauriel frowned. "Breathe, not suck in the entire atmosphere in one quick breath."

He hissed and bit his lip, blindly reaching out with his left hand until it found purchase. He tightened his grip, pulling for all he was worth until the sharpness of the immediate pain passed.

Suprised, Tauriel held his hand, for it had been her hand that he'd grabbed. His grip was strong, despite being so ill and injured. But it was a point of pride not to react as he squeezed on the delicate bones of her hand. Once the immediency of the pain passed him, he let up on the pressure. She flexed her fingers subtly, but didn't dislodge his grip.

His hand was warm. Perhaps too warm? Fever maybe. Or were dwarves usually this warm? She hadn't touched any others and had no frame of reference. There was a light dusting of dark hair on the back of his hands. Blunt fingers. Nothing delicate about her dwarf. Chagrined, she dropped his hand. He wasn't 'hers'!

"Sorry." Apparently Kili hadn't realized he'd grabbed her, until she'd let him go. "I didn't hurt you?"

"No." She said simply. She didn't mention that her hand felt cold now that he was no longer touching her. "I think he might have a fever." The red-head spoke, deliberately turning away from talking directly to Kili.

The medic shook his head. "Low grade, to be expected. Dwarves usually run warmer than our kind though."

Tauriel nodded, nice to have her unasked question answered. Involuntarily, she wondered what it would be like to sleep next to a heat furnace such as a dwarf, during the long winter nights. But not just any dwarf, just a certain one. Suddenly embarassed, the red-head turned away. Her thoughts were becoming, unseemly.

"Tauriel."

On his tongue, her name felt like a caress. Ignoring the shiver running up her spine, she nodded. "Yes?"

Kili gave her a sad look. She thought she knew his question, it would be one of her first questions. The arm. "Fili."

Tauriel blinked. On reflection, she should have known that his first question wouldn't be about himself. "I defer to the medics."

"You saved me from poisoning, back in Lake Town." He pointed out.

"Basics." Tauriel blushed lightly, having her poor attempts at healing brought up in front of the real medics.

"Young Master Fili was seriously injured, as were you yourself." The one who spoke was the elf he'd hit earlier. "We are hopeful that he will keep the leg."

Kili paled at the news, then nodded. Then he obviously tried to move his right arm, gasping out in pain as the arm itself protested. "And this?" He panted, his breathing turning labored for a moment.

"You'll keep the arm, yes." The medic nodded. "We are less certain on how much movement will return. It should be a full recovery, as long as you stop flinging yourself off the bed and onto your arm." It was a rebuke, plain and simple.

Kili smiled rather sheepishly, but nodded gamely enough.

"Need the arm to be an archer." The dwarf sighed.

Tauriel nodded. "Indeed."

"And to eat. Important thing, eating."

The red-head smiled lightly.

"And for music. Of course for music. We dwarves love a good song." He grinned at her.

"You call the noises you make music?" She teased him, no heat behind her words.

Kili grinned, some of his charm seeping back in now that he knew his brother would survive.

"Swordplay. Axes. Staves. All in need of two good arms."

"Of course." She agreed with him.

Kili's smile turned sexy, making her blink. "And for holding a woman. Definitely need my arm for that." His voice lowered, drawing an involuntary shiver from her that she has hard pressed to hide. Though she thought she'd managed.

"If you can catch one." She harumphed. "And if you know what to do with one."

Kili's laughter turned into a coughing fit, pulling him up to sitting and drawing frowns from the two medics still tending to him. "Fine, fine, fine ..."

"What else do you need your two good arms for?" She asked, prepared for an inappropriate answer. What she got shouldn't have surprised her.

"To win back my brother's throne." Kili's voice turned harsh, and his eyes stared steadily into her eyes.

Silence fell over the room. Tauriel could feel the gaze of the two medics turning toward her, unsure of what to say. But she had nothing either.

"Oh Kili." Sadness colored her voice.

"That's Prince Kili, younger brother of King Fili, King Under the Mountain. Not dead. Not dead at all."

"Oh dear." A tired voice from the doorway, filled with amusement and exasperation all at the same time. "I'm afraid you are sadly mistaken."

Relieved, Tauriel bowed and backed away, leaving the floor clear for the newcomer. "Mithrandir." His name was a plea.

Kili stilled, dark eyes drinking in the sight of the gray-haired wizard. "Gandalf. Help me."

"Oh I am, Kili. I am."


	3. Questions not answered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The politics aren't canon, and I still don't own these characters. Hope you're enjoying the story!

"It has been two and a half weeks! How can anyone heal if they have no good food?"

Tauriel sighed with false heaviness. Yes, it was an old arguement, but at least the dark-haired dwarf was strong enough to argue in the first place. "Two of those weeks were with you oblivious and unconscious." She pointed out with a calm voice.

Kili sputtered and grumped, looking delightfully cross. He ran his left hand through his hair and then growled when his fingers got tangled in the sweaty knots. "This is just gross! And I'm damnably hungry!"

The male medic blinked twice, the only sign that his patient might be a strain on his patience. "You have refused every meal today."

"Those weren't meals! Those were bowls of water that haven't even SEEN a haunch of beef, or poultry, or good venision. Fish? Fish would even be a welcome change!" Kili moaned and slumped back onto his pillows. "I'm dying." He whimpered melodramatically, plucking at his woolen blanket.

"No. I keep telling you, you are dead." Came an amused voice from the far side of the room.

Kili stiffened, jutting out his jaw. "I keep telling you, I ain't listening! And since you want me 'dead', starving me is a slow and mean way to kill a good dwarf!"

"Show me a 'good' dwarf and I'll tell him." Gandalf rejoined quietly. "And maybe him I'll feed. We've been going on like this for three days now. Save me from the stubborness of dwarves!"

"Cruel wizard." Muttered Kili, crossing his good left arm and then stiffening as his right arm wouldn't bend. "Fecking splints! And maybe I'd listen to you if I could hear your words over the grumbling of my empty belly!"

The wizard lowered his head and peered at the young dwarf male with an expression of fading patience. "What would you have us feed you? Your gut was opened and nearly on the wrong side of your body by an orcish blade. You're damned lucky the elves are such supurlitive healers. But that doesn't mean that your body is up to the task of an actual meal as of yet."

Kili stilled completely, his dark eyes widened. Tauriel blinked, suddenly less happy.

Gandalf looked around the room at the healers who refused to meet his eyes. He glanced at the obviously shocked Kili. "They judged you weren't ready to know. I judge differently, based on ...well, how much you are annoying me."

"He knows now." Tauriel said shortly. "And I have a feeling you won't be any less annoyed now that he does."

Gandalf nodded with resignation. Kili's mind was obviously racing, expression after expression chasing across his mobile features before finally settling on consternation. A moment later his jaw firmed and he raised his dark eyed gaze toward the wizard, opening his mouth to speak.

"Nicked one of your lungs with a thrust as well. Skewered like a Troll's dinner." Gandalf interjected before the young dwarf could even form his first word, much less his argument. "Having trouble taking a full breath?"

Kili shook his head, the lie obvious to all in the room. Even himself. The dark-haired male frowned sharply. "I still want food." He grumped in a much more subdued manner. "Not hot water that has had a leaf dipped into it so you can call it soup and not be lying. Completely."

The male medic, who had not yet seen fit to share his name, shook his head mutely.

Tauriel watched the young male struggle with pride versus reality. It was obvious that Kili had never before been faced with a situation he could not fight or charm his way clear of. She gave him a deliberately light smile. "How about hot water with you dipped in?"

Kili's liquid dark eyes blinked with the change of subject, looking a bit lost. Then he smiled, and it was if the clouds had cleared and the sun was bright again. "A bath?" Hope clear in his voice.

The elven medic nodded, although a tad reluctantly.

"Our King has given his permission for the use of the Elissia pools."

The medic's clear blue eyes widened slightly, then he nodded with a smile of his own. "A most generous offer."

Tauriel nodded in agreement, although to herself she did wonder if King Thranduil made the offer from any form of generosity or from expedience. Had he judged that if the two dwarven males healed quicker, they would leave his kingdom that much faster?

"Eilissia pools?" Gandalf questioned, then nodded carefully. "I have only heard of the great healing springs of the Woodland Elves."

"He'll have to be carried." Tauriel commented.

Kili protested weakly, pride warring with the need to be clean. "Fili too?"

The medic paused and considered for a long moment. Finally he gave a slow nod. "I will arrange for the litters." He turned and stared at his patient. "And perhaps tonight you can try a weak rice porridge."

"Joy, joy." Kili mocked, though still smiling. "With a side of beef?"

Gandalf laughed and shook his grey head. "You can't live without pushing your luck."

"Still not talking to you." Kili said in a sing-song voice.

"Gandalf, Gandalf Wizard Grey

wandering the world and laying claim

to deeds of wonder come what may

But absent from the bluffs

Where he'd said he ..."

"Enough!" Barked the affronted wizard. "Young, stupid, ignorant dwarf with rocks in place of his brains."

Kili smiled smugly. "It would have gone better with the sound of a fiddle. But ...well, you know." He wiggled the fingers on his wounded and splinted right arm. Proud that they actually moved, even it was a rather stiff motion.

"You weren't there to invade Erebor any more than I was." Snapped the irritated wizard.

Kili snarled. "I was wounded and in Lake Town. And I still tried to go! Thorin refused me." His voice dripped with both hurt and anger beyond measure. "You. You were missing!"

"He was a prisoner." Came a weary voice.

Kili's head turned sharply to stare at his older brother, resting on a litter carried by four elves. He shook his head, as if disbelieving.

"Shut up." Fili spat out the words. "Just

shut up, Kili."

The younger of the brothers paled. "I said nothing."

"You were thinking too loudly." Fili said, no energy in his voice.

Worried, dark eyes sought out green eyes. It was completely odd to seek comfort from someone other than Fili, but he did so without thought. Finding himself surprised that he'd done so in the first place.

Tauriel gave a sigh and shrugged. She didn't know why Fili looked worse, rather than better than he had yesterday either.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili groaned and leaned back in the heated pools, breathing in the heavy mineral scents. He raised one hand, watching the water fall between his fingers and rubbed his hand over his face. His skin felt smooth, smoother than mere water would have provided.

"These springs have a certain healing property."

Fili ignored Gandalf, letting the heat of the water seep into his bones. Into his marrow.

The wizard fell silent as he looked over toward the other side of the pools where Kili was arguing with Tauriel, trying to talk her into getting into the pools with him. "He doesn't understand. He needs you."

A long silence, then Fili sighed. "I don't understand either." He admitted harshly.

Gandalf nodded and drew upon his pipe, relaxing in the peaceful bower hidden in the shade from the late afternoon sunlight. "I thought the Lady had explained well enough."

Fili lost his frown as he considered the High Elven leader he had met a few days ago. One who had left him stunned. "If I try to claim my name and throne, it will lead to a civil war amoung the dwarves. Many would die. Too many. And something the elves need will be lost forever."

Gandalf blew out a smoke ring that turned into the symbol of a question mark, including the dot at the bottom. "Not just the elves, everyone."

"What?"

The wizard shrugged and hemmed and hawed, before finally admitting that he himself had no clue.

"She's left." Fili stated, although it was actually a form of question.

Gandalf nodded, admitting that the High Elf had indeed left for her own home. "She left today." Then after a long pause, he added something else. "She has the far sight."

"The vague sight." Fili protested without heat. "You know, I never wanted the throne."

A bit surprised, Gandalf blew out a new smoke ring in the shape of the Arkenstone. Dain II's new symbol of a legitimate throne.

"It was my mother-brother's right. I always expected him to win, marry, produce a new heir. Mother never let me think the throne might one day be mine. It would either belong to Thorin, or I would be dead protecting him."

"Kili too." Gandalf said quietly.

The older of the two brothers nodded slowly. "He's never thought of himself as king material. Hero yes, but not king."

"Reckless." Commented the wizard.

The blond dwarf chuckled without true mirth, but nodded. "Throws himself into everything. But loyal as they come."

"You as well." Gandalf allowed. "Loyal to Thorin."

Fili gritted his teeth. "You should have let us die with him. We were to rule with him, or be buried next to him."

A deep sigh was his answer, Gandalf looked down at his foot for a long moment before raising his gaze to meet that of the young dwarf. "It is not disloyal to survive."

"Isn't it?" Fili growled deep in his throat. He took a deep breath and struggled to extend his knees. The left one was slow to answer and he groaned as he pushed through the pain as he snarled. Finally straight, the blond dwarf stared at his recalcitrent leg and swore under his breath. "I can't let go of the throne."

"You don't want it."

"I don't want anyone other than Thorin to have it. Especially not his blasted cousin who refused to aid us on the quest for Erebor in the first place!" This last was said with an escalating tone that rose in volume with each word until the final one was shouted into Gandalf's direction.

Silence fell over the entire area. All eyes turned toward them both. Fili could hear his younger brother call to him in question. Kili had his back. Even injuried, and even if it killed him, his brother would come. Against a wizard if need be.

"Why should Dain rule over a place, and have a treasure, he turned his back on in the first place?" Fili asked, his voice once more lowered so that his words were private.

"Kili would die." Gandalf dropped each word like they held actual physical weight. "So would you. Your mother. Balin. Bofur. Oin. Bombur. Each and every one of you. Probably even Bilbo. Anyone Dain would suspect of harboring treason."

"Bombur." Fili chuckled, thinking of the fattest of their former group.

"You shouldn't laugh." Gandalf chided. "He is a singularly minded individual."

Fili nodded. "When it comes to food, he can think of nothing else. Until it's time to sleep. Then he can think of nothing else. First to sleep and last to rise."

Gandalf leveled a very serious look at the much younger dwarf. "It has been reported by several that your Uncle Thorin sent Bombur to work the bellows during their struggle with Smaug the Dragon."

Fili shrugged.

The wizard sighed. "Bombur ran for the bellows and worked them without fail. Without running away, despite a rampaging dragon roaring around the forges while every other dwarf ran around trying to survive. He stayed where he was sent. He never failed your Uncle." Gandalf smiled fondly. "Singularly minded. And his mind was, and is, set to loyalty. Thorin knew his worth, that's why he was with the group. Physical appearance aside, you can't find a more loyal follower. He would have followed Thorin into death ...and he would follow you, as Thorin's heir."

"Dain would kill him." Fili whispered, feeling small for his earlier laughter at the fat dwarf's expense. It was hard seeing someone in a new way, even when it was someone you already liked.

"Without fail." Gandalf nodded solemnly. "My point is simple. The dwarves that followed your uncle had one thing in common. Utter loyalty to the idea of Erebor as 'home', and to the reality of your uncle as king. They went off to face a fire-breathing dragon on a quest everyone else considered impossible. For love and loyalty to one man and his bloodline. Yours."

Fili swallowed hard, feeling the lump in his throat.

"If you try and take your uncle's throne, they will follow you and others will rise up as well. War will come. Dwarves will die. Far too many. Families would be destroyed. And the only one to make any gain would be our Enemy of Old."

Fili coughed and sputtered, pointing at the wizard. "There! There you go! Talking like her! Old Enemy? What are you two blathering on about? I take the throne, win or lose ...how does this affect the elves? The wizards?"

Gandalf sighed. "The Lady Galadriel was as clear as any could be when looking into the possible futures. If the dwarves descend into civil war, something vital will be lost. Something that could help turn the tide in the coming war, that will encircle more than merely the dwarven world, but the entirety of Middle Earth."

Fili stared wide-eyed at the wizard. "She didn't make sense, and neither do you."

The Grey Wizard jerked his shoulder and waved his pipe at the young dwarf. "Neither she nor I can make this decision for you. We're just telling you some of the consequences. Not to mention, your mother has forbidden you to try this course of action!"

For the first time that afternoon, Fili laughed for real. "Oh, now you're just sounding desperate, to bring my dam into it!"

Gandalf's serious expression eased a bit and he chuckled. "Dis is a most intimidating female."

Fili's laughter increased as he nodded emphatically. "Oh wizard, you have NO clue how true a statement that is!"

"With a more intimidating beard than either of you brothers, or even combined!"

Fili's laughter faded naturally and he smiled freely for the first time since awakening. "And she never lets us forget it!"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili felt worried, watching the slow and painful way his brother settled onto the litter the elves had placed him upon.

Next to him he felt Tauriel settle her hand on his shoulder. "He'll be fine. He was nearer to true death when you both were found. He's been fighting a severe infection and needs to rest."

"That weed you used on me that first time ..."

"Would be of no use in this particular situation. Our medics are the finest, and your brother is already healing. It takes time."

Kili frowned, watching the elves carry his brother back towards King Thranduil's ...home? Palace? Weird underground, yet not a cave and with trees on the inside place? "Elves are weird."

The hand on his shoulder tightened painfully.

"They leave me alone with you." Kili switched from a painful subject to a more fun one. "Don't they worry I'll take advantage?"

"No." She sounded far too amused.

That's when it registered. To be standing next to him, with her hand on his shoulder, she needed to be ...in the water. Kili turned his head to look at her, shocked.

Tauriel smiled wickedly, one second before she pushed him ruthlessly underwater.

Kili came up sputtering, his dark hair stuck to his face and covering his eyes. Trying to catch his breath was difficult. "Wha?"

Something cold touched the top of his head. Something wet and herbal smelling. Confused, Kili sniffed and then sighed with abject pleasure as her fingers found his head.

Tauriel smiled as she stood behind the dark-eyed dwarf, hair cleaner lathering his sweat-soaked scalp as she massaged his head. Sounds of deep and abject pleasure escaped his mouth as he sank to mid-chest level in the heated spring.

"An elf at my back. At my back. I'm trusting you." He breathed out the words for all the world sounding like he was in the throes of passion. "You won't drown me, right?"

Tauriel's cheeks reddened slightly, liking the sounds eminating from him. From her touch. They weren't really alone. The springs, although private, were not off-limits. At least not to the High Elves. She, as a Silvan elf, well ...that was different.

The sounds Kili was making made it sound like she was touching more private areas than his head. And she should be entirely clinical about the situation. But his pleasure drew her. The way he leaned his head back into her hands, almost purring, had her blushing. Not out of embarrassment, not entirely.

Warm, the she-elf swallowed, but did not stop massaging his head. He was taking so much pleasure from something so simple, and ...it thrilled her. It made her wonder what sounds he would make if she drew her fingers down the side of his face. What did whiskers feel like?

Facial hair was an unknown among the elves. What did it feel like? Her fingers followed her thoughts. It was hair. On his head. Wouldn't it need to be cleaned too? She made the excuses to herself even as she felt the tickling sensation of the bristly hair. Not as soft has his regular, longer hair, but ...not unpleasant.

Kili sighed most happily. "I have more hair on my chest." He hummed invitingly.

Tauriel leaned in to say something clever and cutting, only to still. She looked up suddenly, finding Legolas' blue eyes on her.

Chilled, she turned into a virtual statue. Kili protested. "Don't stop." He pleaded breathlessly.

"No. Don't stop." The voice shocked Tauriel. Musical, beautiful, and she hadn't sensed this presence at all.

The Silven Elf dropped her gaze and dipped her head. "Lady."

"Prince? Your escort is ready?" The High Elven queen stepped gracefully from the shadows of the bower.

Legolas glared at the dwarf, whose head she was still holding. Yet he nodded. His cold gaze moved to meet hers and he gave a half smile. "I am informing a captain in my father's guard, I will be gone for an extended visit to Imladris."

Tauriel nodded, shocked. The Prince was leaving?

Kili chortled. "Hey! I may not speak Elvin, what with not being able to trip my tongue all over itself like a babbling brook. But I know that word! Imladris! Rivendell! Right? I'm right, aren't I?"

Taurield didn't even think about it, she shoved his head underwater again. This time she kept him there. When Kili's good arm started flailing she heard the Lady Galadriel chuckle.

"Don't drown him, the medics might be cross at their hard work being wasted."

Shocked at being addressed by one so high, to her ...one so very low. Tauriel let him up.

Kili, hair streaming down his face gasped for breath, and once he caught it he began swearing in earnest. Embarrassed beyond measure, Tauriel shoved him under once more.

"Prince? Please go make the final arrangements." Galadriel cut a look out of the corner of her eyes and Legolas moved immediately, but not before throwing an unreadable look toward Tauriel.

Alone. Alone with a drowning dwarf and a High Elven queen. Tauriel stared at the water, then realized that Kili wasn't struggling as hard. Shocked, she pulled him up and held him up as he struggled to catch his breath. His chest rising and falling with the efforts of breathing. That's when she realized that the hair on his chest was soft, much softer than that on his face.

Heat bloomed throughout her body, not just her cheeks. Still she didn't look up. Not with the Lady still there.

Galadriel smiled, even if none could see her. She cocked her head and said something soothing to the dwarf, but behind the scenes she looked deeper into his heart. 'Seeing' him. Surprise lit her eyes and she smiled.

"It would be shame to lose such a treasure." She said smoothly, in a musical voice.

Kili continued to struggle to catch his breath, his recent injuries making that difficult. Tauriel's jaw tightened, wondering why the High Lady would make fun of the dwarf like that, even if he couldn't understand her words. She was hurt for him.

"I don't mock him."

Tauriel caught her breath, wondering if her thoughts were open to be read. It was said the Lady could do that, but she'd always thought that to be an exaggeration. Until now.

"He is a treasure, to some. One it would be a shame to lose." Galadriel's voice was sweeter than the birds in the spring. And her sincerity loosened something tight within the Silvan elf. "But it is a poor, poor thing not to answer his question."

"Question?" The word left her mouth before she could stop it, shocked she bit her lip. What question? Oh, whether or not she would drown him. After he said he trusted her. Feeling badly, she sighed. He might think she'd tried to do just that.

Galadriel chuckled as she stepped back into the shadows, but before she disappeared completely her last words struck Tauriel like a body blow.

"No. Not that question."

In her mind a vision arose, of Kili, sorely injured and lying in Lake Town. Poisoned. His voice called to her, weakened as he'd been. "Do you think she could have loved me?"

"You have a bad habit of not answering him, child."


	4. Giving of Gifts

Tauriel didn't raise her eyes to her king, not that she wasn't allowed, but she did not want him to read her confusion. "I have done nothing beyond my duty as a Captain."

"And yet that seems to catch his eye, or rather, both eyes." King Thranduil spoke in a voice like silk, every movement of his body a study in absolute grace.

His eyes. Legolas. Prince and heir. Her friend, and one she respected greatly. And liked. But he did not make her heart race, or enter her dreams uninvited. Like another.

"My son informs me that his journey to spend time in Imladris 'can not be taken just yet'." Did the king's voice show impatience just then, she wondered? Surely not. "You say nothing."

Startled, Tauriel realized that her liege was expecting an answer. Unfortunately, she did not have one to give.

"You have a bad habit of not answering him, child."

High Queen Galadriel's words haunted her, just like they had for the past week. Unbidden, Kili's laughing face entered her mind. Every time he smiled, it pulled at her. When he laughed, her own mood lightened. When he ...the king moved slightly, nothing much but it pulled her focus back to the conversation at hand. One in which she had yet to answer. "I ...do not know what you want me to say, my king."

"You have nothing to do with Legolas' decision to delay his visit to Imladris?" The question was leading, as if King Thranduil already knew the answer. But in this, she knew herself to be innocent.

Tauriel shook her head slightly. "I have not shared duties with him since you first asked me not to ..." Her voice trailed off, unsure how to say the next part.

"Asked?" King Thranduil's eyebrow rose with mocking sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Tauriel dropped her gaze, letting her long red hair swing forward to shield her expression. She hoped that her features showed none of her consternation, Silvan elves were far less schooled in controlling their emotions than were the High Elves.

"I told you not to give him reason to look in your direction." The silk in his voice was still there, but so was the subtle menace.

The she-elf looked up, but did not raise her eyes past his collarbone. "And I have not."

The king cocked his head to one side, considering her for a long moment. Finally, he nodded. "Perhaps not."

Before she could relax, the king continued. "Perhaps you should do something."

"Something?" She asked.

King Thranduil sighed heavily, as if disappointed with her in some way. "Something." He restated, waving one hand in an offhand manner. "Something with another. Surely there is someone who has caught your lovely gaze? Share a dance, take a private meal. Something." He reitterated.

Without her consent, her mind filled with the image of a certain dark-haired, dark-eyed, dwarf. The memory of his laughter filled her ears and a shiver of anticipation raced down her spine.

Missing nothing, the king stilled, his attention caught. "Oh. I see that there is." He smiled benignly, almost happily. "Grand. That makes this easier. I have no wish to hurt you, you have been superlative as a Captain within my guard."

Tauriel nodded her appreciation of his compliment, although her mind was racing and unable to find purchase on this slippery slope. Did the king know of her ...preoccupation? It was no secret he cared nothing for dwarves.

"Make yourself known." The king nodded, as if this settled everything. "Unless ..." He paused and gave her his full attention. "Someone of too high a rank?"

Like a prince? Of a kingly bloodline? But then, as a dwarf that would matter nothing to Thranduil. "No, my liege."

"Oh, don't look so worried." The king sounded magnamonious. "I don't mean to make a spectacle. Just quietly let it be known you have interests elsewhere."

Let it be known to Legolas, he meant. Tauriel nodded and when the king turned his back to her, she knew she'd been dismissed. But she couldn't help herself. "And if this interest means leaving your service my king?"

If she wanted him to protest, she was doomed to disappointment. "That would be sad indeed." He agreed, than waved one hand over his shoulder to compete the dismissal.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili stared at the bow, frowning sharply.

Legolas laughed lightly, if mockingly from his perch up in a nearby tree. He pointed one elegant finger at the bow. "That part in the middle is the grip."

Kili sneered, turned his head only slightly and shot an ill glare at the elf laughing down at him. He silently held up the elven long bow, resting the tip on the ground. It was as tall as he was. A bit taller, actually.

The blond elf let the ends of his mouth tilt up. "Ah. That could be an issue. Perhaps we have some bows taken from our enemies that you could use. Like an orcish bow?"

Both Kili and Fili stiffened at the implied insult.

"I believe we have a Rohirrim short bow in the armory." Tauriel walked up to the group, looking around with an utter calm she really didn't feel. "A less than fortunate orc died carrying it."

All eyes turned to her. Fili looked relieved to see her. But then, he wasn't an elf. Those of her own race? They stared.

Tauriel let the long sleeves of her blue gown drop down to cover her hands, the silver threads catching the sunlight prettily.

Allinier, the elvish medic, and his assistant both stared at her for a long moment, then one smiled while the other nodded companionably. Legolas went still, utterly still. Tauriel glanced with false casualness around the area. "I thought Bofur and Oin were to arrive today?"

"Not yet." Fili nodded a greeting at her, then returned his attention to a collection of knives as he tested the weight and merit of each one.

Tauriel couldn't help herself, her eyes travelled toward a certain person who kept invading her dreams. Kili stared back at her, his expressive eyes shielded. "You going to try and drown me again?"

At least this question she could answer honestly. "I have no immediate plans to do that."

He grunted, then grinned at her. "They're still not feeding me."

Allinier gave the young dwarf a lengthy look. "You had a meal right before we came out here."

Kili shook his head, his long hair pulled back in a silver clasp. "Weak rice porridge. Is. Not. A. Meal."

Legolas cleared his throat. Tauriel refused to look in his direction. The blond prince's blue eyes narrowed speculatively. The other elves missed none of this byplay. More than one mind raced with the implications.

"You sure look pretty." Fili commented, blind to the cultural implications of what was going on beneath the surface.

Tauriel nodded, but her eyes never left Kili. The younger of the brothers glanced down at himself and then back up at her, wondering what she found so interesting. "You sure you won't try and kill me again?"

She laughed lightly and shook her head. "No, I said I had no plans to drown you. Not that I would not try and kill you."

Startled, Kili gave a sharp bark of a laugh. Then he threw back his head and sighed happily. "Just so we're clear."

Legolas leapt down from his perch, landing close to the two of them. He glared at the dwarf, who met his look and narrowed his own gaze on the taller elf. He then turned to look at Tauriel. She did not meet his gaze, nor turn to him. "Do you hold a gift?" The words seemed torn from him.

From within her sleeve she pulled out a bottle, a silver one. Kili's face slipped into neutral. "More medicine?"

"Gingered ale. A change from water, and still good for you." She held it out to him.

Completely missing the implications, Kili took the bottle in his left hand, admiring the silver designs etched onto the surface. The elven medic and his assistant held their breathing, watching Legolas. The blond elven prince turned on his heels, anger snapping in his cold, cold eyes. He left without another word, he stopped at the edge of the clearing, his back to them all.

They waited for his words. But he had none. A long moment later, he continued on his way without further pause.

Fili, at least, seemed to notice the strain. He looked confused as he watched the departing prince's back. The older of the two dwarven brothers turned his gaze back to her, she felt the weight of it, but her own eyes were solely for Kili.

"Come, let us go inside." Allinier straightened up, motioning toward Fili and his own assistant. The blond dwarf raised one eyebrow in question. Amused, the medic shrugged lightly. "I want to check the dressing on your leg again."

Fili shook his head, confused. "You put a fresh dressing on it only an hour ago."

"You might have strained something." The assistant pointed out with abject reasonableness.

Fili's eyes widened. "I've been sitting down!" He held up the knives he'd been going through and pointed at a knot in a tree he'd been using for practice throws. "Just sitting!"

Kili opened the bottle, sniffing it carefully. "Poison?"

The two elf witnesses stiffened with shock and anger. Tauriel only smiled gently. "Gingered ale. It's a treat, and ginger is good for upset stomachs."

Kili ran his hand over his belly ruefully. "How did you know? My stomach hasn't felt good this afternoon."

"The orcish weapon that tore open your belly not quite a month ago wasn't enough of a clue?" She ignored Fili's grumbling as he gathered up all the knives and headed back inside with the two elven medics.

Kili looked around, seemingly surprised to find himself alone with her in the pretty little clearing. "What is going on?"

"You have a bad habit of not answering his questions, child."

Once again Galadriel's voice mocked her. She smiled. "It's a gift." There, that was deliberately vauge.

He snorted in amusement. "Last week you tried to kill me."

"If I wanted you dead, I'd already be visiting your grave." Tauriel pointed out calmly. "Instead I bring you a gift." One with a deep meaning, well not the gift itself but the act of giving it while wearing a certain type of dress. While looking at no one else.

"Thank you." Kili opened the bottled, sniffing it curiously. His nose wrinkled adorably. "It doesn't smell like ale. It tickles."

She smiled at him tenderly. "It's not ale, as in with alcohol. It's gingered."

"It's odd." Kili sniffed it again, then turned his head and sneezed, nearly losing his grip on the bow as he was holding it with his injured arm.

Tauriel gave him a soft look, knowing he was clueless. "Are you refusing my gift?" She asked, taking the bow out of his hand.

Kili shook his head, and his right hand. "I couldn't have nocked that." He sighed heavily. "The arm is weaker than I'd thought."

"Are you refusing my gift?" She asked again, more pointedly this time.

Interest sparked in his dark, dark eyes. This sounded more formal than he'd originally thought. Not sure what to say, he smiled charmingly. "No. I accept."

She waited, raising one eyebrow at him as a smile teased her lips.

KIli groaned. "This would go easier if I knew what the right response is to this gift."

Tauriel just continued to smile.

KIli groaned a second time, rolling his head. "Do I drink? Do I say thank you? Do I give you a return gift?" On that last one, her smile grew. He nodded thoughtfully. "A gift in return. To an elf who tried to drown me. Three times."

"Twice." She murmured.

He shook his head at her, then winced. "Stomach really doesn't feel that great. And it was three times. I went under three times. I counted."

She demurred and allowed the comment to pass.

Kili sighed and shrugged. "I have no gift to give you." He grimaced slightly. "I came with only the clothing on my back, and that was pierced through."

"And bloody." She nodded. "I remember." Her light tone did not betray the horror in her memory of finding him after the Battle of Five Armies, as it was now known. He'd been so still she hadn't been sure he'd still been alive. Not to mention being buried under the bodies of several orcs, and half a troll.

Kili nodded, then he smiled brightly. Her own smile answered his. He reached behind his head with his left hand and freed the dark fall of his hair from the silver clasp. One of a matching pair given to him and his brother by a cousin many years ago. "This means a lot to me."

Tauriel stilled, her attention struck as she saw his hair fall down to frame his face. A face that haunted her dreams and teased her senses. Her hand rose as she stepped closer, he stepped to meet her. But instead of reaching for the chased silver clasp her hand rose to his dark hair.

A bit startled, he looked up at her face. "Tauriel?"

"It's so different than ours." Her voice was soft, teasing. Alluring.

Kili moaned. "I damned well wish I felt better!"

The she-elf smiled as she entwined her fingers in his tresses, tugging slightly. "It waves."

The dwarf chuckled at her fascination, that laughter faded as her other hand rose to cup the side of his face. "Tauriel?"

The she-elf looked down into his eyes. The king may have ordered her to allow Legolas to see she had interest otherwise. But when she'd returned to her room, she realized ...this is what SHE wanted. Tauriel knew she could have accomplished what the king wanted in any number of ways. The custom of the Blue and Silver gift was showy, and formal. Unnecessary for the king's purposes. And exactly what she wanted.

"I accept." The red-headed elf took the silver hair clasp with one hand and leaned down, putting her forehead to his. "What would you do if I stole a kiss?"

Kili's eyes widened with appreciation, then he smiled. "You can't steal what is offered freely."

"What will it be like to kiss someone with a beard?" She murmured aloud.

"Tickles." Kili teased.

Tauriel pulled back slightly, giving him an odd look.

The dark-haired dwarf chuckled. "Dwarf females often have beards. I have kissed before, I am over 70."

"So old." Teased the 600 year old elf as she leaned in to claim her stolen kiss. Her lips met his and he opened for her immediately, his good hand reaching up to pull her in closer.

"My lady of starlight." He whispered.

She smiled softly. "I'm not too far away, now. So very close."

"Not close enough." Roughly he wrapped his good arm around her, pulling them even tighter together.

Tauriel felt dizzy for a moment, so heady was the first touch of lips. His tongue touched hers as she gasped, finding it hard to catch her breath. He tasted salty and familiar, slightly spicy. Kili pulled back far too soon, and she blinked at him.

Ruefully, the dark eyed dwarf apoligized. "I'm useless to you today. I really don't feel that well."

"You do look a bit green. Not the best compliment that I've ever ..." Tauriel paused, licking her lips. "Spicy." She whispered.

Kili chuckled weakly. "I'm sorry. Whoa!" He exclaimed as she suddenly moved in close to him again, smelling his breath.

"What did you eat today?" She demanded roughly.

"Nothing. Weak rice porridge counts as less than nothing." He snarked.

The she-elf shook her head. "Allinier!" She shouted, with her face so close to his he winced at the increased volume. "Weak rice porridge isn't spicy. Nor does it taste like salted pork."

He winced. She growled, her suspicions angering her.

The medic appeared at the edge of the clearing, looking a bit uncertain. Tauriel whirled and bit out the words angrily. "Salted pork?"

The medic stiffened, then sighed. "His brother's meal."

"I was starving!" The dwarf protested weakly.

The red-head looked worried. "He doesn't feel well, says his stomach is unsettled."

The medic rushed forward, grabbing the protesting young dwarven archer. He peered into the dark eyes and sighed. "It's been over an hour since lunch, but ..."

"But wha ...hey! STOP!" Kili screeched in affront as the elf medic spun him around stuck his hand into the dwarf's mouth. Muffled shouts of protest were overtaken by gagging noises. It wasn't long before the unauthorized meal made a return trip.

The unhealthy noises and yelling brought both the medic's assistant and a badly limping Fili. The blond dwarf yelped his brother's name and tried to rush to his side. Tauriel stepped into his way. He snarled at her.

She grabbed him by his cut down elven robes, balling them into a fist at his throat. "You gave him your meal?"

Suddenly unsure, Fili looked around her at his struggling younger brother. He paled. "That was bad?"

"Why did you think he was on a special diet?" Her voice rose alarmingly.

Fili blinked rapidly. "To be mean?" He whispered. "Kili was hungry, so hungry!"

"He had enough to fill his belly, but it wasn't dense foods for a reason!" She shook him a bit too hard and Fili started to lose his balance. Remorseful, she set him back on his feet in a way that didn't make it seem like she'd kept him from falling.

Steadying himself against a nearby tree, Fili sighed. "Pork. Potatoes. Greens."

The medic shook his head, peering at the mess on the ground. "Pork and potatoes, yes. Greens no."

"Hey! I ate the carrots." Kili protested. "They're good for eyesight!"

The medic winced. "A most dense vegetable. Greens would have been better." He called out something quickly in his elven language. His assistant ran back inside. "Anything else?" He snapped at the two brothers.

"No." Snapped Kili, looking greener than ever.

Fili sighed deeply, looking up at the sky. "I snitched a roast duck, some wine, couldn't find any ale. Jerky. Bread. Butter. Pickled beets. Half a roast ..."

The medic swore as his eyes closed in resignation.

"I only ate half that roast. Half of a half." Kili shook his head.

"Some kind of relish with apples and other fruits. Cheese." He stopped, thinking a moment. The elves watched him sadly. "Oh, and some pears. I think ...oh, there was a sweet custard too."

"Nothing else." Sarcasm dripped from Allinier's voice.

Fili shrugged helplessly. "Gravy."

"Damnable dwarf!" The medic's lips thinned as he stared at his charges.

Tauriel swore roundly, making the medic pale just as the assistant ran back toward them carrying a large jug. "I have the medicine."

"This will help him feel better?" Fili asked hopefully.

"Yes, give me the cup." Allinier held out a hand to his assistant.

Kili, embarrassed beyond measure, cursed roundly. "Well this 'damned dwarf' doesn't need a stupid cup." He grabbed the jug and pulled the cork loose, chugging down at least a quarter of the contents.

The elves all stared, their mouths agape.

"How much does he need to take?" Fili asked anxiously.

Kili groaned and stuck out his tongue. "This tastes like troll dung."

The medic sighed and held out a very small cup, staring at it sadly. "This amount. He needed this amount."

Kili smiled then. "Good, it tasted terrible. Now I'm done."

"Done in." Muttered the medic's assitant, looking uneasy. "Come with me."

"Where?" Kili moaned.

Allinier shook his head, an odd look on his face. "The lavatory." He cocked his head to one side and shrugged. "You are going to be one very unhappy dwarf in about an hour." Then he looked down at his cup. "Or sooner, considering the dose you just took."

The assistant chuckled. "Just deserts. For not following the diet plan."

Kili snarled, his stomach already rumbling. "You should have told me why I couldn't eat."

"WE DID!" Each elf then looked from one to another.

Only the sound of Kili's stomach turning over made everyone start to move.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Three in the morning is not the most romantic time. Standing over someone you cared about while he groaned, curled up in a fetal position, was also not terribly romantic.

"Please kill me." Kili moaned.

Tauriel wiped his forehead tenderly. "No, thank you. You tried to do that to yourself all on your own."

The dwarf sighed unhappily.

"You need another bath." She teased. "If you want, I can finish drowning you."

"Please. Yes."

Tauriel ran one hand down his cheek, letting her fingers absorb the bristly feel of his face and the hair there.

"I can never eat salt pork again." His voice sounded hoarse and weak.

Tauriel smiled gently. "Or potatoes. Roast duck. Beef. Beets. And let's not forget the carrots."

"Please let us forget the carrots." The dwarf moaned, turning his face into his pillow.

The red head leaned in, putting her chin on his shoulder. "If it helps, I think the worse is over."

"I think I died two hours ago." He whimpered.

"Why are you always in bed when I see you?" The she-elf mused. "Or prison?"

He gave her a bleary look. "You're the one who put me in that prison." Kili pointed out.

"I'll put you in one again if I need to keep you from doing something like this." She threatened without heat.

Kili rolled onto his back, his color pale but at least no longer green. "What was today about?"

Tauriel's eyes sparkled. "You are not up for the answer tonight."

"Will you kiss me again?"

The red-head's eyes widened. "Not tonight I won't. I saw what came out of your mouth."

Kili sighed. "I meant ever, not tonight in particular."

"Yes."

His eyes sharpened and he stared at her. She turned to the bedside table to dip a cloth in a shallow bowl of clear, cold water. His breath caught as he spied his silver hair clasp holding back some of her long silken hair.

"Why?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Legolas was up before the sun. Mostly because he hadn't slept all night. Furious, he had not meant to pass by HIS door. Five times. The blond headed one was asleep in a chair. The medic came and went.

She stayed in that room. All night.

"Aren't you going in?"

Badly startled, Legolas steeled himself not to show his surprise. It seems the brother wasn't asleep after all.

"No." His one word answer was sharp and clipped.

Fili yawned and scratched his beard. "What was all that business about yesterday?"

"You're the idiot who fed your equally asinine brother when his digestive system was still trying to repair itself. He was medicated to keep everything moving slowly to rebuild what was damaged. Then you two tried your utmost to kill him all over again." Legolas told himself he didn't have time for fools.

"Not that business. The other." Fili watched the blond prince sharply. "The one you don't like."

The medic's assistant had been turning the corner, when he heard that question he stopped still. Afraid to move, afraid to call attention to himself.

"I don't like you." Legolas said bluntly.

"I don't like you." Rejoined Fili. "Doesn't answer the question."

Legolas turned to face the young dwarf warrior and sneered. "They're courting." He threw the words at the blond.

They hit their mark. Fili's eyes widened in shock. "Kili? My little brother. And an ELF?"

"I thought he was older." Lied the prince. "Being so much taller."

Fili jumped to his feet, cursing as his leg nearly buckled under him. He cursed his weakness even further. Limping, he made it to the door of his brother's room and peered inside. His breath caught.

Tauriel, sitting beside his clearly besotted brother, their faces close together. Talking. Smiling. Fili shut the door in shock. How had he missed this?

Legolas sneered, but what he might have said next was lost forever as a noise in the main hallway had both males turning.

"Morn'n. Morn'n." Bofur and Oin walked toward them. "Sorry we are to be late like'n we are. Unexpected tidings and all."

Fili gave the two dwarves a weak and bleary smile. "What tidings?"

"Me." Came the robust and rich voice of the dwarven matron. "It's good to see you, son."

"Mam!" Fili looked shocked, stunned, and delighted.

Dis smiled happily.

Legolas stared. "That's your mother? She has a longer beard than you do!"

"Flattery is an empty art, my fine elf lord." Dis dismissed the prince out of hand. "But I thank you."

Having meant to be insulting, Legolas appeared temporarily nonplussed.

"Surprised we are to find you awake. Thought you'n were still convel ...conveles ...getting better?" Bofur said around the pipe in between his lips.

"I come with news and tidings." Dis said nodding solemnly. "Is your brother still awake?"

Fili, at a loss, just nodded. "He was last I peeked in." Then he remembered what he'd seen in that room and he paled. Their mother was very protective of Kili especially, being the youngest.

Legolas stared at the impressively solid looking female dwarf and suddenly smiled. He gestured toward's Kili's door.

Dis stared at him a moment, and then looked at Fili. Legolas too looked at Fili over the dwarven dam's head. He shrugged at the blond, as if to tell him it was his call.

"He's awake mam." Fili said, chewing his bottom lip. Well, what of it? It WAS the truth.

Uneasy, sensing strange undercurrents, Dis put her hand on the door. She looked to Bofur and Oin. Both dwarves seemed as lost as she did. She stuck out her jaw and opened the door, walking inside.

Fili winced. Legolas smiled.

Dis walked out and shut the door behind her, looking shocked. "Why is there an elf, cuddled up in bed with my baby?"

Bofur blinked, shocked. "Er ... pretty red hair?" He guessed.

Oin nodded. "Green eyes?"

"Couldn't see her eyes." Dis snarled.

Bofur nodded happily. "Tauriel. She saved his life. Twice."

Dis' anger evaporated into wonder. She looked at Fili who smiled weakly at her. "Still and all, it's hardly seemly."

The elf who served as an assistant to Allinier stepped in, nervously trying not to look in the direction of his prince. "They became hand-fasted just this afternoon."

"Hand-fasted?" Dis looked utterly appalled.

The elf nodded. "I don't know the dwarven equivilent. To the world of men, they're engaged. Or not really, it's basically married but only on a trial basis. So, not really married. Oh dear, it's hard to explain."

Dis growled loudly. "He is only a BABY!"

Bofur winced. "Uhm, no. Seventy two, begging your pardon. He's technically not a minor."

Dis' face hardened with anger, her hands curling into fists.

The elf frowned. "If it helps, I'm not entirely sure he knows if he is hand-fasted."

"Oh really." Dis turned back toward the bedroom door, throwing it open with a loud bang.

For the first time since yesterday afternoon, Legolas' mood improved.


	5. Objections

"Hmm. the choices here'n." Bofur stroked the stem of his pipe and gave a nervous laugh. "Face a fire breathing dragon, rampaging orcs, or Dis in a temper?"

Oin nodded and shook his head, taking the decorative hearing horn out of his ear. "My choice? Not to hear what comes next." He smiled at the group in general.

Fili shrugged. "Having faced all three in my life, I'll take a pass." He looked at the closed door behind which his mother and brother lay. And a certain she-elf. "Tauriel can take care of herself." He muttered. "Maybe."

Legolas gave them each a look of disgust and turned away, clasping his hands behind his back. Pretending not to listen. Or care.

The elven medical assistant looked curiously around the group. "Dragon." He supplied with a smile.

Suprised, Fili shot him a quick look.

The elf shrugged. "Someone's already killed it."

"Ah hah!" Bofur nodded sagely. "Wise choice, wise choice. But ...uhm, someone should go in there and remind Dis."

Oin just smiled vaguely and nodded, shrugging while he shook his head to show he hadn't heard a thing.

Bofur looked at the two elves, one who smiled politely at him and the other a prince bent on ignoring them all. His eyes turned to Fili. He smiled broadly. "Well'n she be your mother, lad."

Fili's eyes turned sad and suddenly he shifted his weight to his right, drawing up his left heel slightly. "I'm injured. And I don't know what it is you need to be reminding my mam about."

Bofur huffed and pulled on his pipe silently for a second, letting out a few wisps of fragrant smoke. "And the other'n be your baby brother. You remember him? Poor Kili, him'n needing some help about now."

"Injured. So weak." Fili's voice sounded thin as he coughed and hacked for a moment.

Bofur sighed. "It was Kili's lung that got run through, not your'n."

Fili shrugged helplessly. "Hmm ...but really I don't know what it is I need to be reminding her of in the first place. You do."

"Oh please." Legolas muttered, still standing with his back to them and his hands clasped behind him.

Bofur smiled happily. "Seems the elf prince just volunteered."

Legolas turned his head, staring haughtily at the dwarf and Bofur sighed unhappily this time. "And he just'n unvolunteered."

"Grand evening, grand evening." Oin smiled beatifically around the group, winking at Fili and looking so utterly relaxed.

Fili winked at Bofur and stroked the beads attached to one side of his mustache. "I volunteer Oin."

"Seconded." Bofur agreed quickly.

Legolas sighed. The elf medic looked back and forth between them all. "I don't know if all of this is actually warrented. The lady dwarf has been inside the room for several minutes now and I hear no sounds of temper."

Shocked, Bofur and Fili's eyes went wide and the older dwarf's pipe nearly slipped from his suddenly lax lips. Both bolted for the bedroom door, their shoulders interfering with each other for a moment before Bofur threw open the door while Fili rushed inside.

Knives were drawn and at each other's throats. Kili was sitting up in bed, looking ill and afraid to make a sound. His dark eyes met Fili's gaze. Both turned to stare at the ladies.

Besides the two weapons aimed at each other's throats, both ladies sported a second blade as well. Dis' wicked looking curved knife was currently threatening Tauriel's belly. While the she-elf held a razor sharp blade at Dis' left eye. Neither was speaking.

Bofur let out a lusty sigh of relief. "No blood. Yet. Good'n. Ladies, ladies."

"The only reason she is still alive is that Kili is alive." Dis' voice sounded calm, way too calm for someone with immenent death literally staring her in the eye. "Seems I owe you for his life."

Suprised, Tauriel blinked slowly. "The only reason you live is that Kili asked me not to hurt you when you barged in here. I'm not even sure who this dwarf is."

"She's my mother." Kili winced, lowering his hands to the bed. "Mam?"

Tauriel's eyebrow rose quietly, the only sign of her surprise at the identity, and gender, of the bearded dwarf.

"Baby." Dis didn't look at her youngest, still holding her attention on the taller she-elf in front of her.

Tauriel smiled without any warmth, a warning rather than an indicator of mirth. "Seems she objects to something. And I don't think it's you, Kili."

Dis shrugged, not backing off even slightly. "No. I object to elven women marrying my son without my permission, or his knowledge."

Kili blinked three times in rapid succession. Fili shrugged helplessly at his little brother. "Married?" The younger of the two brothers mouthed the word in shock.

Tauriel considered the dwarf matron carefully, then stepped back for a moment, nodding her head very, very slightly. "Understandable."

Dis glared at the red-headed elf and lowered her blade in a gesture. "Explanations?"

Kili looked back and forth between the two most important women in his young life. His head was spinning. And his stomach. "Married?"

"Handfasted." Tauriel corrected blithely. "Not married."

Dis' eyes narrowed once more, her teeth bared with menace. "Did he know?"

Tauriel shrugged and then shook her head. "No." She admitted. "I was going to explain it, but he and Fili had to go and rummage through the pantry."

Dis' blade rose as she snarled at the red-head. The she-elf raised her own blades in instant response.

Helplessly, Fili watched this and turned to gauge his brother's reaction, he groaned when he saw Kili's face. "He's turning green again."

"Married?" The dark haired, dark-eyed dwarf swallowed hard and shook his head, as if that might shake loose the word from his brain. "Married?"

"Handfasted." Bofur shrugged. "Not sure what that'n is, but ...laddie? Laddie? Oh, oh, I think we're'n about to lose Kili."

Quicker than the eye could follow, Tauriel spinned, her foot kicked Dis' arm toward the wall. Her sharp and lethal blade pierced the rich fabric of her opponent's sleeve as she embedded it into the fine wood. Pinning Dis' sleeve to the wall as the dwarven matron cursed, Tauriel turned to the bed, and Kili.

Weak, and with his gorge rising, Tauriel helped him lean over the basin situated next to the bed. She gently pulled his hair out of the way and helped support his torso as Kili fought to catch his breath and to hold onto his stomach. Despite some gagging, nothing was left to produce, his system having already having been purged.

"Baby?" Dis was suddenly in front of her son, kneeling down beside him. Her worried eyes met Tauriel's green-eyed gaze.

The she-elf explained briefly what had happened earlier and Dis' mouth tightened with further temper. "So that's what ye meant about raiding the pantry." She sighed heavily.

"Mam, it wasn't Tauriel's fault." Fili tried to sound smooth.

"No. It was yours laddie." Bofur pointed out without sympathy. "Giving your brother that meal when the medics clearly explained why he couldn't have it and all."

"They're starving us!" Fil protested. "I've lost nearly 20 pounds, and Kili ...poor Kili."

Dis frowned, and so did Tauriel. Their eyes met once more, this time not nearly as advasaries.

"I see this is where the party is at." The friendly voice drew every eye as Gandalf stood framed in the doorway. Next to him was a hobbit.

Weakly, his pace pale, Kili smiled at the welcome newcomer. "Bilbo."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I'm on my way to the Shire, escorting Bilbo back to Bag's End." The wizard explained kindly.

Fili sipped his juice, wishing it were ale instead. Bofur puffed away on his pipe and Oin had his hearing horn back out.

Dis and Tauriel sat on either side of a pale-looking Kili. His mother with her arm around his shoulders, and the she-elf holding his hand. They were no longer brandishing weapons at one another, but hostile looks still came and went fairly regularly. At least Kili had stopped muttering at last.

Bilbo looked back and forth between the two brothers, clearly worried. "You said you are healing?" His voice showed he wasn't sure about that.

Fili lifted his juice in an imitation of a salute. "Against our will at times, it seems." He peered at the hobbit most fondly. "I'm glad to hear that you and Thorin came around at the end. Most troublesome business."

"i'm sorry about your uncle." The hobbit hurriedly looked at Dis, "and your brother."

The dwarven matron nodded sagely. "You were a good friend to him, from what I hear. The business with the arkenstone ..." She sighed. "Well, it is what it is. I saw first hand how my grandfather fell under the spell of gold. I'm glad I didn't see Thorin in that way, and that he left this world having returned to his friends and not the cold comforts of metal."

Hesitantly, Bilbo bobbed his head, his sadness at the passing of Thorin Oakenshield obviously genuine. And heart-felt. But then the hobbit shook his head and looked at the elf standing next to the doorway, the one who assisted the head medic. "They look too thin."

"Agreed!" Fili groaned, draining the remainder of his juice. "But Kili, well ...the orcs did their damndest to open him up like a pig. It's no wonder he's dropped weight."

Kili made a face, but didn't dispute the comments.

"Nothing but skin and bones, the lot of you." Dis grumbled.

The elf nodded and then shook his head slightly. "We have worried on it." He admitted almost reluctantly. "Allinier had us searching the archives on nutrition for dwarves. We think it has to do with the infection that young Fili has been fighting off, and the inability of Kili's body to digest things well enough yet. Once his digestive system is healed, he should begin to put some needed weight back on."

Everyone nodded, accepting that. Everyone except a curious little hobbit. "Oh, well, okay then, but ...what archives?"

Attention arrested, Gandalf paused with his pipe half-way from his lips. He thought about it for a long moment. "The wood elves and dwarves have had no real contact in over a century. And before that the dwarves relied almost exclusively upon their own healers in Erebor."

"So, what archives?" Bilbo asked in his gently inquisitive manner.

Legolas made a gesture toward the elven medic. "Fetch the archive in question." The prince ordered. "I assure you, our healers are the best."

"I've heard miracles about your healers." Dis allowed generously. "Or I would not have sent you my two sons on their deathbeds. I just didn't expect one of them to trick my baby into getting married."

"Handfasted." Tauriel sounded snippy. "Not married."

Kili looked up at her, about to ask the difference. But when she looked into his face, all he could see was her concern, and care. For him. He lost his words in sudden wonder. His dark eyes traced the line of her cheek to the gentle slope of her neck and he sighed most happily. His fingers tightened on hers, as if afraid it was only an illness induced vision, and not reality. "You're really here." He whispered.

Dis nearly choked as she saw the tender looks shared between the two. Her arm tightened around her son's shoulders, pulling him forceably away from the she-elf and into her hug. "You're too young for marriage." She said matter-of-factly, and with great authority.

Gandalf smiled gently. "An elven handfasting is not the same. Yes, they live as if married but both can walk away without claim at any time in the next ten years. It's a prolonged courtship, to test the waters so to speak. Unless they become with child, then it becomes a marriage automatically."

"Mam." Kili protested, deeply embarrassed. He shrugged off her arm. "I'm not a child."

"If you were an elf you would be considered a minor. Barely seventy." Dis protested.

Fili grinned widely. "But we're not elves, mam. Too much hair, in the wrong places." He raised he and Tauriel's joined hands to the side of his face, placing her palm on the curve of his cheek. Sweetly, she cupped his jaw and ran her fingers over the short beard growth there.

Legolas sneered and turned away, clearly appalled.

Dis' jaw tightened and she jerked on Kili's arm, pulling him to her side. The dark-haired dwarf resisted, but he was still weak and his mother ...well, she was still his mother. Unable to bring himself to strike her he sighed. "I'm grown, mam. I mean I went on this quest with Thorin and all. Gimli didn't come because he wasn't old enough, but I did."

"And there is barely ten years between the two of you." Dis protested sharply, but with a sinking feeling that she was losing this particular argument.

"Fili got engaged when he was my age." Kili pointed out.

Dis' eyes snapped with temper. "Engaged, not married."

Tauriel smiled and reached out, running her hand down Kili's shoulder.

"Stop that!" Dis exclaimed. Only no one stopped.

Kili's head was turned toward his personal star, and her hand moved to his chin. Tauriel leaned toward him, and he met her halfway. Bending down, their foreheads touched as both closed their eyes, just breathing in the presence of the other.

Dis sighed heavily. "Well. Damn it all. So that's that then."

Gandalf chuckled and raised his pipe to her in salute while Bilbo looked uncomfortable, and yet smiling.

A rap on the door had them all looking up. Allinier, the head medic among the elves, entered the room with his assistant following closely behind. The younger elf carried a dusty tome, thick with vellum and the smell of something molding. He bowed to his prince. "My liege. There is a question about the care the young dwarves are receiving?"

"No." The proud elven prince looked down his nose at Kili. "I have no questions."

Quietly Bilbo raised his hand, hesitated and put it down again. He thought it over a moment and raised his hand again, but only half-way before lowering his arm again. Thoughts flew over his expressive face and then his jaw firmed. This time when his hand went up, it stayed up. "I have a question. Both Kili and Fili look partly starved." On the last word his voice sounded lost. Starving was a nightmare death, to a hobbit. "Perhaps more meals, small ones, but more of them ...throughout ...er, that is ...well, maybe if they had a bit more?"

Fili nodded, pointing at the quiet little halfling.

Allinier sighed and shrugged. "At banquets in the past, before the dragon, if we shared a meal the food intake wasn't regulated. We served, or they served, all ate their fill. I myself was never at these meals, however. But both Kili and Fili were gravely injured. We had to refer to a much older tome detailing what is healthy nutrition for dwarves."

Gandalf made a come-hither gesture to the medic's assistant. The elf looked to Legolas, who made no objection. He brought the ancient tome over to the grey wizard, bowing. He helpfully opened the book with a woven silk bookmark. "Here. We've been quite diligent. You see on this side is the dwarvish language, and here is the elvish translation on this side."

Oin came over and peered around the wizard as both men looked at the inscribed words. He shook his head and shrugged, pointing at the old dwarvish words. "Seems clear enough. And reasonable. Entirely correct."

"About the same as what we would serve ourselves, if slightly more." Allinier agreed.

Gandalf paused and shook his head slowly. "No, I've known dwarves who have eaten three times as much as an elf. Each meal."

Bofur snickered. "Bombur doesn't count."

The grey wizard chuckled most fondly. "No, Bombur counts as at least two dwarves in one. Perhaps three."

Oin, listening through his hearing horn, shrugged. "True, true. But this amount of food per meal seems reasonable." He pointed at the dwarvish side of the manuscript, being unable to read the translated portion.

Allinier froze in mid-nod. His eyes widened. "Per meal?"

Gandalf peered more closely at the words on each side of the page. "Oh dear. Small mistranslation. This is a nutrition list, per meal ...not day."

Fili's eyes widened with shock, he looked toward Kili whose mouth dropped. "I knew they were starving us!" The older brother crowed.

Legolas' expression was unreadable, but Tauriel looked appalled.

"Fine way to start a marriage, starving your husband." Dis smiled smuggly.

The red-head tightened her jaw. "Handfasted."

"And he can walk away at any moment. Any moment." Dis said coolly, reaching over to tug on her son's ear.

Kili looked up at his mother, his eyes bright. "Win!"

Dis smiled brightly in triumph, ony to lose her smile as he turned to Tauriel and grabbed her hands. "What should I eat first? Roast? Venison? Fish? Liver?"

Tauriel shook her head at him, horrified that they had indeed not been feeding the healing dwarves enough. But Kili's guts were still clearly in need of time to heal. "Carrots?"

Kili clamped a hand over his mouth in protest. "Not carrots. Evil, evil elf." His words did not match the tender fondness in his voice.

Gandalf watched without speaking, seeing the hurt in Dis' eyes as she saw him turn to another in his life. Another woman, not his mother. He glanced at Oin, who was looking anywhere but at the threesome. Bofur caught his eye, and the other dwarf shrugged helplessly.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"This is NOT fair!" Kili sulked, watching his older brother devour a roasted quail. His third. The heady aroma of the herbs and crispy skin made his mouth water.

Tauriel bit her lower lip, "You nearly tore out your digestive system today, and you are still trying to heal." She looked up at the others in the room. "Why do we have to have them eat together like this, it's cruel."

Dis sighed, rubbing one hand over her face. "My fault. I came with a delegation of dwarves."

"Bofur and Oin." Tauriel acknowledged the two older dwarven males.

The dwarf matron shook her head. "King Dain, well he sent a delegation here to confur with King Thranduil. That Bard will also be arriving soon. That's why that Prince Legolas had to go join his father."

Fili put down the quail bone in his hand, staring at his mother. "Here?"

"Here." Dis nodded. "Best way to show that the elves have nothing to hide. But of course, they do. The two of you."

"Men and dwarves are everywhere these days." Gandalf sighed. "Cleaning up the damage from the battles, as well as the dragon. We need a good smuggler to get the two of you away. Unfortunately, the best smuggler around ..."

"is someone we need to hide you two from." Bofur ended the sentence for the taller wizard.

Kili frowned down at his rice porridge. Sure there was more of it, but it still tasted bland. "We weren't on bad terms with Bard. Thorin, well ...that's different. Me and Fili liked him."

Dis nodded slowly, as Gandalf continued. "But Bard and Dain have come to some treaties and understanding. It might be best to let you two stay 'dead' as it were. Which brings us to why the two of you need to keep it quiet while the delegation visits. And not go out and about to risk being seen."

"And why they have to stay in the same general area?" Tauriel frowned over at Fili's nearly empty plate, and then back at Kili who was watching his brother eat with near desperation.

"It would look strange if too much is off-limits to the guests." Dis sighed unhappily. "We need to act as if ...well, as if we have nothing to hide."

"Like two living heirs that could take the throne from Dain." Bofur said with a sniff.

"Maybe Dain would ..." Kili looked up hopefully. "I mean, he never seemed like a bad sort when Thorin talked about him."

Dis looked at her son sadly. "Dain told me himself that he sat with your bodies, singing you into the Halls of the Fallen personally. Sat with your bodies. Filled your tombs with gold and tribute for you both since he has named you 'heroes'."

The implications sank in as each and everyone fell into silence.

Fili balled up his fist, slamming it down on the table, making the plates jump alarmingly. "Bastard."

Dis smiled weakly. "No use throwing aspirations on Dain's parents, they were nice enough. And Dain is ...a dwarven king."

"I wouldn't have been like that." Fili snarled, with his brother nodding in agreement. "I would have been a good king."

Dis looked away.

"Mam?" Kili looked affronted, while Fili stared.

Dis shrugged, her eyes sad. "You two weren't born in Erebor. Weren't raised as true princes, not really. Thrall was already dead. My father ...lost to us. Thorin. Thorin loved you two, raised you after your da passed. He led you to love Erebor, but you loved him more. You loved the throne ...for him, not for yourselves." She looked at her children and sighed helplessly. "Thorin would have married and produced an heir. And you two would have been loyal to your Uncle's son. But Thorin never raised you to truly think the throne belonged to you."

Kili swallowed hard, nearly choking on the harsh truths. A hand settled on his. A hand with creamy, star-kissed skin and elegantly long fingers. So different from his own hand with thick fingers, and a dusting of dark hair. He turned his palm over, her fingers traced skin there. Her fingers entwined his as she smiled at him.

"I was going to tell you." She whispered.

Kili knew she meant about the handfasting, not the dwarven politics. He nodded, smiling ruefully. "So, why would you want to join yourself to a dwarf prince without a title, a throne, a cent to his name. I'm not even able to eat."

Tauriel smiled gently and leaned in close to him, bending to rest her forehead on his. "I ..."

"That's a good question." Dis interrupted. "A very good question."

"Mam. Leave them alone." Fili suddenly sounded tired, very tired. "I guess my engagement is off?"

Bofur winced. "Since you're dead, and she being distantly related to Dain's wife? Yeah, I'd assume that too."

Tauriel looked up, stricken with sadness at this new loss. "Oh, I'm so sorry ..."

"Best news of the day so far." Fili gave a half-grin, then a chuckle.

Tauriel's sympathy choked on itself as she swallowed her words of condolence. Kili laughed, his own mood rising. "Oh dear." She murmured.

Dis gave her a snarky look. "These two aren't always the easiest. You best be sure you want to be involved ..."

The she-elf smiled, making the dwarven matron still. The smile wasn't nice or pretty, it held a wealth of self-confidence and strength, as well as something deeper. "I'm already involved. Ever since a certain dwarf told me a story about the firemoon."

"I thought it was during the battle with the spiders." Kili objected.

"No, not then." Tauriel gave him a tender look.

"Or when I told you about my promise ..." His voice trailed off with a wink and a smile.

"Not then." She leaned in closer to him. "It was your voice, the wonder of your voice as you shared about the firemoon."

Dis watched the two with wide eyes, then looked at Bofur who shrugged. "I think that was when we was imprisoned."

"Imprisoned?" Dis sounded unsure, and a bit alarmed. "Who imprisoned you?"

"That would have been me." Tauriel looked up, her green eyes clear and unbowed.

Dis growled.

"Right after she saved my skin from the giant man-eating spiders." Kili rushed in to reassure his mother. "She saved my life again after I was poisoned by an arrow from an Orc while escaping."

"Escaping from a prison? An elvish prison?" Dis' words dripped with rising temper.

Bofur looked around the group and then nodded at Gandalf and Oin. "No one has died and the sun is rising. You owe me, Oin."

The dwarven healer pretended not to hear, even going so far as to take the horn he used to help him hear better and shake it as if to clear it of debris.

Fili, his mouth full of potatoes, choked on his laughter.

Kili watched his brother sadly. "Can't I just have a taste?" He whimpered.

Tauriel scooped up some porridge. "I sweetened it with honey."

Kili shuddered. "But ...potatoes?"

The elf licked her lips and shrugged. "Carrots." It was a threat.

Kili paled and ate his porridge silently.

Dis looked around the room and sighed. How had life come to this? Her home was restored, a dream come true. But her beloved brother wasn't here to enjoy the victory. Her sons were 'dead' to her, and she'd not be able to see them much longer. Not for a while at least. And her baby was married, no that was handfasted ...to an elf of all things!

Everything stopped as Dis cursed loudly and stood, burying her knife blade in the table in front of her. They all stared and watched the blade shake a moment before stilling, embedded deeply into the wood.

Bofur gaped. "Wha?"

Gandalf took a moment and blew a perfect smoke ring. "It's hard letting go."

Dis grunted.

The wizard's voice was gentle, but resolute as he spoke. "My inestimable Dis, the day is beginning and the rest of the delegation might find it strange if you are not present during the initial meetings with King Thranduil."

The bearded dwarf matron looked clearly torn, not wanting to leave certain elves alone with her sons. Or at least one of them. "She comes too!" Snapped the angry mother, pointing at the rival for her son's attention. "I ain't leaving her here to sleep with my baby. This is not settled yet."

Kili, eyes wide, almost choked on his porridge.


	6. Heated

Four Days Later:

Fili grunted as he sat on the bench, pulling his left knee back as far as it would currently bend. "Now." He commanded.

Bofur, kneeling beside the younger dwarf, grabbed the ankle and shin and began to push with his not inconsiderable strength.

Fili's face went pale, but he made no sound of protest. Baring his teeth, he strained with the added impetus of Bofur's assistance. Slowly the knee strained, and bent several degrees more.

"Now?" Grunted Bofur as he pushed, his face turning red.

"No." Fili ground out the word, his own face showing the effort, and the pain involved.

Allinier watched closely, but didn't interfere. The medic nodded as the knee approached the normal limits of range of motion.

Finally Fili threw back his head and Bofur let go. Angry, the blond dwarf snarled. "Why did you stop?"

"Don't want to'n break the bone lad, not when you're doing so well." Bofur shook out his arms.

Allinier nodded his agreement. "You've made remarkable progress."

"Not enough." Groused the irrate dwarf.

Kili smiled from where he was watching. He dipped his spoon into a bowl as he spoke. "Looks good from here."

The older brother scowled over at Kili. "You should be over here working on your arm."

"I am working on my arm, and what did they call it? Oh, my fine motor skills." He held up the spoon with his right hand, the movement only a little awkward seeming. "Eating and working out. Yum!" He grinned engagingly.

Fili looked less than charmed.

"And I have more weight to re-gain than you do." Kili pointed out cheerfully.

Allinier, having already apologized most expressively for an elf, nodded without comment.

"Did Bilbo and Gandalf get away well enough?" Kili asked, poking at what was really bothering his brother with the unerring accuracy of a sibling.

Fili sneered and jumped up, putting his full weight on both legs. He groaned at the pain, but the leg did not buckle. "We should have gone with them."

"Where?" Kili pointed out, again. "The Shire is pretty enough, but there is no rock or mountain. No true forests. No ..."

"Fine!" Snapped Fili. "Fine. You made your point. Gandalf made his point. Bofur and Oin and even our mam made their point. But we don't belong here! And I hate being in hiding!"

And that was the main point. Kili sniffed in sympathy and then shrugged. "We'll figure it out."

Fili sighed heavily, leaning his weight more heavily onto his right leg and ignoring the pain. His anger seeped away as he slowly began to bend and straighten his knee, with more than half his weight on it. "I hate being hidden. Relying on the elves good graces and without a home, or a name of our own."

Allinier bowed lightly. "You are not a burden, and we count you and your brother as friends."

"You might." Kili grinned cheekily. "Legolas doesn't."

The elvin medic didn't answer the obvious, instead he turned and looked at the doorway. A moment later there came a soft knock, followed by the door opening. A certain red-headed she-elf looked inside.

Not having seen Tauriel in the past four days, Kili's grin turned silly with happiness. "I thought perhaps that the stars had grown jealous and had taken you up to live among them." He teased.

Tauriel's eyes scanned the room, but settled on a certain dark-haired dwarf. Her green eyes widened with alarm as she saw what he was doing.

Forestalling her protest, Kili cocked his head in the medic's direction. "I have permission." He waggled his spoon at her. "Bilbo even shared some hobbit recipes with the elves. Did you know you can make a sauce from apples?"

Tauriel gave him a curious look. "What do you put it over?"

Kili shook his head. "Naw. You eat it by itself. Not bad with some cinnamon. I'm even getting peas now." He leaned forward slightly and whispered. "They mush them into a soup and there is nothing to crunch, but it's a damned sight better than rice porridge."

Tauriel looked over at Allinier. "What's he eating that he shouldn't?"

Kili looked affronted and highly insulted.

The head medic gave a small smile. "Potatoes that have been mashed, with a beef gravy."

Kili suddenly became very interested in the fingernails on his left hand.

"Aspic jelly and flavored ice chips." Allinier continued.

Kili gave a fake yawn and looked away from everyone else.

"No carrots?" She teased.

Fili smiled at the face his younger brother made at the mention of the now hated vegetable. "He used to like carrots fine."

"Not since they tried to killl me." Muttered Kili, shuddering at the memory.

"May I speak with your brother?" She nodded at Fili, who looked surprised.

The blond dwarf shrugged and gave a small smile. "How did you get away from my dam?"

Tauriel answered his smile with a small one of her own. "I left her listening to King Thranduil's tales of the Seven Stars, while the king dismissed me to check on the guards."

"Which you've already done." Fili shook his head in admiration.

"Which I already did." She agreed, never having been one to shirk duty. Not even for pleasure. "Besides, one of Dain's lieutenant's asked about my hair clasp and I think everyone was afraid they'd ask why it looked familiar."

Fili's amusement faded as he looked at her silver hair clasp, one that exactly matched his own. The same one his brother Kili had gifted to the she-elf not quite a week ago. "I didn't think of that."

"Nor I." Tauriel nodded.

Bofur gestured toward Fili and the two made their way to the door. But the elder dwarf paused at the doorway, as they waited for Allinier to join them. "If Dis asks, you tossed us'n out at knife point."

"Of course." Tauriel nodded respectfully, even as Kili chuckled. Once alone, she made sure the door was shut.

Turning she looked at a chipper Kili. He waved at her and smiled. "I know you just want me alone to have your way with me." He teased.

"Yes." Tauriel said, watching him like a bird with prey.

Kili laughed, and when she didn't laugh with him, his smile slowly faded until there was nothing but heat in his eyes. "Really?"

"No."

"Damn it!" Kili sighed, "I should have known it was too good to be true!" He stabbed his spoon into his bowl and scraped out the last of his meal.

"You don't look nearly as green as you did the last time I saw you." She told him.

Kili shrugged. "I'm getting more to eat, but they won't give me any meats at all. Maybe next week, maybe they'll let me try some fruit that's not been mushed up for babies. Maybe, maybe, maybe ..."

Tauriel walked across the room. That described what she did. But the reality was far more. The taller she-elf strode with grace, power and purpose. Dark eyes watched her with intense appreciation as she stopped in front of him, sliding down onto a low set of pillows meant for reclining.

His voice suddenly hoarse, Kili just had to ask. "Are you sure you don't want to have your way with me?"

Tauriel eyed him, loving the way his dark eyes caressed her without actually touching. How his breathing had sped up in anticipation. How he reached for the side of her face.

She leaned into his touch. Not feather light, nor silky smooth like an elf. His hands were blunt instruments, and they had seen hard work in the past. But he touched her as if she were precious and breakable. "I owe you an explanation."

Kili nodded, he had wondered about what she had done. "You went and married me?" He teased. "Excuse me, handfasted. So. Did I miss a step somewhere?"

"You're the one who asked if I could love you." She whispered.

Kili's eyes widened as he caught his breath. Weak, dying and poisoned he might have been. But he remembered her, and he remembered the question. But ... "I didn't think I'd asked that aloud."

Tauriel closed her eyes and leaned into the touch of his hand, rubbing her cheek gently against his palm. Kili leaned in closer to her, slowly raising his right arm and hand to cup the other side of her face. The arm worked, if more slowly and stiffly than he would have liked. Her eyes opened once more, only to find his dark eyes staring into her green-eyed gaze.

"You are starlight, moonlight, the entire heaven above. I'm used to rock and metal and coarser things. Why? Why even look down in my direction?" He asked, lost in the wonder of her skin against his hands.

She felt him rub his thumb along her jawline and she smiled. "Light is for nothing if it has nothing to reflect it, nothing to shine upon."

Kili leaned in and shocked her by kissing the tip of her nose, she drew back in surprise. He smiled. "No. That's far too poetic for me. Plain speaking please."

She gave him a curious look and then smiled enough to make him suspicious. "What is the difference between a meal of meat and a meal of a sauce with no crunch? Both nourish you."

"One is far more satisfying." Kili told her. "One sustains you far longer and builds you up far better." He shook his head at her. "It's not the same."

Tauriel met his gaze and shrugged lightly. "All I've known my whole life is things that don't sustain me, don't build me up, and don't have a good crunch."

Humor lit Kili's eyes and he laughed with delight and wonder. His laughter faded under the seriousness of her look. A look that told him that she meant every single word.

If Tauriel expected a sweet kiss to cap the sweet moment, she was sorely mistaken. The dark-haired dwarf, holding her face between his hands, leaned in and stole her heart away. His mouth found hers in a kiss far, far from sweet.

His tongue found hers as he tilted his head and pushed forward with strength, and a great deal of need. A surprised sound escaped her throat and she threw her arms around him to keep her balance. Heat bloomed between them with a fever bright need that shocked the she-elf completely.

Her hands moved to his chest to push him away and instead burrowed under the leather tunic he was wearing, shoving it as open as she could without actually undoing the buckles on the side.

He moaned and his mouth slipped from hers, but before she could protest he was burrowing into the crook of her neck. She gasped in utter and complete shock as his short beard rasped against the velvet softness of her skin. It was difficult to fully catch her breath.

Gasping for breath, it was a shock when she felt him pull back. And she was completely unprepared when he pushed her down further into the reclining pillows. His body settled next to hers, his face staring down into hers. "A few things." He muttered in a voice gone hoarse with want and need.

Tauriel stared up at him. "I am not a child, nor am I helpless." He waited and so she nodded in response.

Kili grunted with approval, and reaching down, undid the top clasp on her bodice. Her bosom swelled upward of it's own accord, as if begging to be touched. One blunt finger traced the line of skin showing down to the apex of her cleavage. It was shocking for Tauriel to realize that her cheeks were blooming with an actual blush.

"Yes, you saved my life. More than once." Kili leaned down slowly, smiling as she caught her breath in anticipation. But he stopped before bringing his lips to her skin. "But that doesn't put you in charge, not all the time anyway." He leaned down and slid his tongue under the line of cloth barely holding her bosom in place.

Hot, bothered, and not able to catch a full breath, Tauriel was still a warrior. She rolled, dragging a protesting dwarf with her until she was leaning over him. His tunic already loosened, she slid her hand under the leather to cover his heart. The hair on his chest was both soft and rough all at the same time, a heady texture that made her blood run faster. And hotter.

"I've fought many battles. Killed plenty."

"Me too." He protested weakly.

Her fingernails dug into the skin over his heart and Kili stilled. Tauriel continued. "Saved several lifes in my lifetime."

"How many did you marry?" He asked her, his hand rising and his finger hooking into the loosened fabric over her chest. He tugged experimentally. The next clasp popped open.

"Still not married." The red-head sighed, arching her back into his touch. "But I take your point. None." She shoved aside the leather and leaned in to kiss his newly bared chest. His chest hair tickled her nose.

Kili watched his lady-love draw back, wrinkling her nose adorably as she fought not to sneeze. Taking quick advantage, he rolled back the other way, once more putting her on the bottom.

"My point is, I'm not looking to be bossed around ..."

"Shut up." Tauriel hissed, reaching down and pulling open the rest of the clasps holding her bodice together.

Faced with the bounty before him, Kili's eyes nearly crossed. He leaned up to taste. "Yes ma'am."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dis came downstairs in a raging temper. "Stupid, stupid males. Why do they insist on staying up drinking and gossiping like old women just when I want to get away the most?"

She turned toward the main door to the rooms her sons had been using. She paused as she spied Fili and Bofur playing chess together. Outside the room. "You two shouldn't be out here like that."

Then all the possible reasons why her son wasn't hidden away, and why her youngest child wasn't present, came to mind. Her hair nearly stood on end.

Pulling her blade, she reached for the door.


	7. It's Complicated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning of lemons ahead.

"That's one way to lose Kili."

The words, and the flat tone, were a slap in the face. Dis growled down at her eldest while he looked down as if to study the chess board. Bofur tried to slink down into his chair and appear as invisible as possible.

"I'm trying to protect your brother." The irate mother spat out the words.

Fili shook his blond head and finally looked back up at her. "You had me engaged at seventy. Why is he still too young at two years over that?"

Startled, Dis' temper abated slightly as she realized that Fili might be upset. "My boy, you were engaged to a fine dwarven maid of high standing. Not married off on a whim. And the wedding wasn't even to take place for another few more years."

"You made him promise to come back to you." Fili pointed out coolly. "You made me promise to look after him."

Dis' expression froze as she studied her oldest. "You're not nearly as reckless as your brother."

Bofur whistled tunelessly at that outright lie. Dis whacked him over the head. Sliding out of his chair to the ground, Bofur moved to the other side of the room, and apparant safety.

"You. You I could trust to follow Thorin and ..."

"Mam." Fili interrupted. "I know you love me, don't think I don't. But you forget, I was there when they brought word of da's death. I saw you clutching Kili. Your youngest, your baby. And don't think that I don't realize that except for the beard, he looks almost exactly like da. Trust me, back then, I held onto him too."

Dis' face melted as she moved to her son. "You're my first born, my rock."

Fili nodded, a smile teasing his expressive lips. "Mam, I know. I know you'd go to the ends of Middle Earth to protect me."

"I would." Dis agreed fervently, reaching forward to touch his cheek. "I don't love one son over another."

"No." Fili agreed, secure enough in his place within the family. He grinned. "But you refuse to see that Kili is no longer a baby. You fought against his coming with us. Thorin had to stand up for him. Just so he could come."

Dis snorted. "You know he had plans to follow you two if you managed to leave without him? Sneaking out like some bandit in the night."

Fili nodded and shrugged, it sounded just like his younger brother. "But mam, the point is ...he was ready to come along. Thorin found him strong enough. So do I. The more you hang onto him the more he's going to try and slip away."

Saddened, Dis turned and glared at the closed door before her. Finally she clicked her tongue a few times and shook her head. "That does not mean that I need to hand him over to some elven wench ..."

"Who sees his worth, finds him attractive ..." Fili interrupted.

Bofur scratched his impressive mustache and nodded. "Saved his'n life more than once."

"Is willing to leave her people to be with him." Fili finished lightly.

Shocked, Dis and Bofur both stared at him. "Oh come on." Fili continued. "Handfasted? Sounds permanent in the making, at least to me. But Tauriel has to know, we're not staying here."

Dis shook her head in denial. "No. If she is merely looking for a way out of here ..."

Bofur interrupted this time. "Why? She is a captain in the King's guard. Respected. Friendly with the king's son. This be her home. I don't think she'd be leaving it on a simple whim."

Fili stood up and smiled at his mother, taking her hand and giving it a tug. She resisted, but finally relented to the one-arm hug from her eldest child. "In other words, mam. Best be learning the elvish words for grandbabies."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili was wrapped around her pale form, his head tucked in next to her collarbone. His warm breath teased the tops of her breasts while one of his large hands spanned the bare skin above her abdomen, his fingers resting just under the curve of her bared breasts.

"My skin burns." She murmured in a soft tone that left no doubt that she was not actually complaining. "I didn't know that hair could be so rough."

Kili chuckled, his hot breath making her shiver in anticipation despite being completely satiated. "You bite." He teased.

She blushed slightly, pleased that when she'd given into her baser instincts he hadn't acted apalled or disgusted, not like some had in her past. "I don't think you have to worry about being bossed around." Tauriel's hand rose and traced a shivery line down his spine, drawing a moan of pleasure from deep within the drowsy-eyed dwarf.

Kili chuckled and swept his fingers up to capture one of her breasts again, running his calloused fingers over the sensative peak. "No?"

The red-head arched her back, pushing her flesh more firmly into his touch. What could she say? For someone who seemed so affable and mischevious, Kili was nothing less than dominant once unclothed. As weakened as he'd been recently, there was nothing tentative about his lovemaking. "I'll be sore for a week." She muttered happily.

Kili lowered his head and lazily lapped at what his fingers held captive, pulling a deep moan of pleasure and heat from his elven companion. His ... hmmm. "What do we call each other?"

Tauriel gasped for air once he let her nipple slip from his mouth. She shook her head and pulled him closer, despite there being no space between them in the first place. "Hmmm?"

"You're my wife? Not my wife? Almost my wife? My fiance maybe. My handfasted-ness?" Kili dipped his head down and began to feast again, his free hand moving over to the other breast, lest it start to feel neglected.

Tauriel's right knee drew up, pushing her heel into the soft pillow, arching herself up to him. "That isn't a word." She groaned, settling back down and rolling him onto his back. The red-head looked down at him as he grinned lasciviously up at her.

"My right hand is doing better." The dark-eyed dwarf teased her, letting his right hand tickle her hip, making her catch her breath as she moved away from his hand instinctively. Right into the path of his left hand, which captured the smooth column of her thigh and pulled her leg upward, making room for him down below.

Tauriel had a moment to realize that she'd been manipulated when his dark eyes closed with pleasure. And disappeared. Moaning heatedly, she caught her lower lip between her teeth as she supported her weight on two arms. While her dwarven lover slid down the soft pillows until his mouth opened heatedly on her belly button. And going lower.

Finding it hard to breathe, Tauriel's green eyes closed, only to open them wide in shock as he called to her from his sensual perch down below. "Are you sure this is allowed on my diet?"

An answer was not forthcoming, as the rasp of his beard on this most sensitive skin had her swallowing her cries and burying her face in the pillows instead.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I am NOT calling you that." Tauriel's voice sounded clipped as Fili, Dis and Bofur walked into the small garden the next morning.

Kili's laughter was full of dark promises, making his older brother's eyebrows raise in wonder.

"Husband isn't right. Fiance or betrothed isn't quite right either, as handfasting is different." The dark-eyed dwarf teased her, looking far too cheerful. "Morning." He called to the newcomers.

Tauriel and Kili both looked up from their respective bows as they stood yards away from their targets. Hers was easy to pick out, being that the arrows were aligned in perfect symmetry.

His were generally in the right area, but in no particular area. Only two seemed to be right on the mark. Fili looked at his younger brother, making careful consideration of how Kili was shaking out his obviously fatigued right arm. "Looks good."

Kili's mood slipped and he frowned. "Don't patronize me, brother." It was clear that he wasn't happy with his own personal progress.

"You hit the mark twice." Dis spoke up, not bringing up the events of yesterday. Or her assumptions on how they'd spent the evening.

"I think by accident." Grumped Kili, relieved that his mother wasn't bringing up difficult subjects. "My ...Handmaiden here has been perfect with her own aim."

"And you will NOT call me that." Tauriel replied, slipping an arrow smoothly into her bow and firing before anyone could react. It struck in perfect alignment to the rest of her shots.

Kili looked at the arrow still quivering in the tree, and then back at his she-elf. He raised one eyebrow and with a returning smile. "My Starmaiden?"

The red-head sighed. "No."

Kili gave her a long, long look. Weighing carefully how he might say what was in his heart. "My love?"

Tauriel stared at him for a long moment, his eyes glued to hers. Uncomfortable, but pleased, she nodded.

Fili and Bofur stared at Dis, who closed her eyes as if in pain. But the dwarven matron let the comment go without speaking.

"You know what I want you to call me." Kili just had to push his luck.

Tauriel's green eyes lost their glow as she sighed. "No."

What happened next stunned every one of them. A giggle, the sound of running feet, a squeal of laughter and then a young girl ran into the clearing. She stopped short at the sight of them.

Who was more shocked, Tauriel couldn't say.

The human girl suddenly burst into wild tears and ran forward, throwing her arms around a badly startled Fili.

Dis had her blades out, but seemed unsure what to do about an underage girl. One currently babbling about how happy she was that Fili was still alive.

"Tilda?" Tauriel actually wasn't sure, the human female child currently had her face pressed into Fili's side. "Is she ..."

"Whoa." A male voice came next.

"Alone?" Finished Tauriel on a deep, heart-felt sigh. "No, she's not alone."

Bain stood at the edge of the clearing looking back and forth in shock between Kili and Fili. "You ...you're dead! Da spoke at your funerals!"

Dis carefully weighed her blade, looking at the children from the world of Men. Children who could spell disaster for her own two sons, and get them killed in a far more permanent manner. She stepped forward.

From nowhere, an arrow shaft buried itself in the ground in front of her foot. Dis looked up at Tauriel, furious. The elf, though, wasn't looking at her. With shock, Dis realized the arrow had come from another. "Kili?"

The youngest of the dwarves present shook his head at his mother. "No. Mam, just no."


	8. Saying Goodbye

"You should have let me just kill them." Dis grumbled, tightening the fasteners on the travel packs.

Kili ignored his mother as he finished the final touches on his own travel rations. He left it to Fili to explain, yet again.

"Mam. They're children. Children we are fond of." The older of the two brothers fought not to sigh or roll his expressive eyes. "Children we fought against orc and dragon to keep alive. We're not spilling their blood now."

Bofur grunted in agreement, his pipe bobbing along with his head as he nodded. "Aye'n not to mention but those children helped try and save our lives as well, especially Kili's when he was so'n sick."

Dis grumbled, and then gestured at a pair of elves who came in with several large bundles. "Over here." She then turned back and watched her children with worry. "If you just would have let me hold them hostage for a few hours, at least until you are away for good."

"Sorry way to thank a family for their generosity." Grumbled Kili, putting more force into lacing his boot than necessary. The lacing snapped in his large hands. Snarling he yanked at it until long elegant fingers touched his own.

Tauriel's sudden appearance from no where didn't startle Kili, instead, it settled him. Relieved to see her beautiful face, he smiled as she unlaced his boot and re-strung it with grace and efficiency. "You're here, love."

"Where else would I be?" She asked in a nearly haughty tone that was only spoiled by the hint of a smile.

Dis' stomach roiled and she grumbled under her breath for a moment before turning to the red-headed she elf tending to her youngest son. "Why? Why do you choose him over all others? I know his worth, but you ...you're an elf!"

"Why indeed." This time the voice was haughty and without smile, and it came from a certain blond elvish prince. Legolas. "You owe nothing to these beggars at our table."

Fili grimaced. "So much for elven hospitality."

Tauriel straightened and stared into the angry blue eyes of her oldest friend. One she might have thought she loved once, from afar of course, if not for a certain dark-eyed dwarf who'd exposed for her what love truly was. Heat. Need. Comfort. Desire, not just for touch but for a mere glimpse.

"He makes me wonder." Tauriel said slowly, her eyes on her prince. "He sees me and makes me feel beautiful. Makes me feel like there is something beyond just me, beyond this world, and beyond my understanding."

Legolas started to shake his head. But Tauriel held up one hand to silence him, and for a wonder, it worked. She continued, her voice softening. "He sees starlight in me. He sees what I am, but makes me want to be more. With him. He makes me feel alive. I don't have to pretend with him. I have never been more free in my entire life."

Dis's jaw tightened and she turned away, Bofur saw her eyes and didn't mention the suspicious moisture there.

Legolas swallowed with difficulty, his eyes narrowing. "You will outlive him." He pointed out ruthlessly. "You'll have what? Maybe 180 years or so? What is that to an elf?"

"And I already grieve." Tauriel said sadly, drawing a look from her dark-haired lover. "But I know that in those short years, I will live more and love more than I would in a thousand years spent here."

Legolas flinched back as if struck physically.

But the red-headed woodland elf wasn't done, not yet. "And I could have taken him for a lover, instead of handfasting with him. But I wanted, needed, to be closer. I want life beyond myself and I feel ...no, I know ...that there will be children. And in them my love will live on forever."

Bofur sighed and took out his soiled handkerchief, blotting his eyes. "Damn."

Fili looked down at his hands and for the first time since the brothers were in short clothes, he felt complete jealously of his younger sibling. Not for the girl, but for the way that someone looked at him. He wondered, if any female would ever think of him in that manner?

Legolas said not one word, he stared at his long-time friend and turned on his heels. Leaving. He stopped just before disappearing. Standing there, tall and proud and silent. Finally he spoke. "I will escort you to the end of the Mirkwood. From there, you are on your own."

Tauriel nodded her assent.

Dis shook her head. "They won't need ..."

"Accepted." Bofur interrupted rudely. "There'n still be pockets of orcs, and not to mention those spiders, out there. And those woods, they be ...dangerous." He shuddered at the memory.

Fili nodded, he too recalled the feeling of being lost in the woods that muddled the mind and chilled the bone.

Kili reached over and took Tauriel's hand, entwining the fingers. She looked down at the joined hands and smiled. Her green eyes travelled up the length of his arm, his right one, to his smirk. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned in for a long kiss. When she pulled back, the smirk was gone, replaced by a look of wonder and desire.

"My love." He whispered.

She answered in elvish. The words fluid and foreign to him. He cocked his head to the side in question. "What you wanted me to call you." She smiled as she teased him.

"Not fair, saying it all strange like that." Kili groused. "That's cheating!"

"My war hammer of dwarven design and make?" Dis looked puzzled.

Instant heat bloomed in Tauriel's face as she stared at Kili with wide eyes. "Your mother speaks elvish? Why didn't you tell me?"

Kili shrugged and looked embarrassed as Fili choked on nothing but air, struggling to catch his breath.

Bofur leaned into Dis. "It's sexual." He whispered, unfortunately, everyone could hear.

"KILI!" His mother shouted, appalled.

The young dwarf in question, instead of being abashed, grinned wider and shrugged. He winked at his mother, whose face went beet red. "It was supposed to be Dwarven War Hammer."

"That's harder to translate." Tauriel muttered, triple checking her weapons to keep from looking at the mother of her lover.

Dis sputtered for a long moment, then sighed deeply and grabbed Kili by the collar of his tunic, dragging him into her embrace. "Promise me."

"Mam?" Kili, more embarrassed now than he had been just moments ago, wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Don't come back. Be happy. Make ..." She swallowed hard. "Make a family and live long." She touched the side of his face with love and despair. "Hopefully I can travel in a few years and not have Dain grow suspicious. I will find you. But promise me, you and your brother won't come back here."

Kili bobbed his head, but that wasn't good enough. Dis grabbed both his ears and twisted sharply. "Ow! Mam! I promise, I promise!"

"Fili! Get over here!" Dis shouted, letting go of her youngest, but not yet turning to her oldest. When she did, she laughed. He was holding his hands over both ears protectively. She grabbed his rather long nose instead.

"Ow! Mam! I promise too!" Fili gave her a long look. Dis sniffled and grabbed him in a giant hug, squeezing until he about turned red in the face from lack of air.

Dis let go very reluctantly, her eyes moving back and forth between her children. She sniffed deeply and nodded. "You're not going alone and with nothing."

Fili nodded and looked to his younger brother, who bobbed his head as well.

Dis signalled to the two elves that had carried in a large bundle. At her wave, they uncovered the load.

Kili's eyes went wide. "My bow!" His gaze narrowed in on the dark wood and elegant lines immediately. "But ...how?"

Fili saw the chest, and knew it wasn't empty. "Mam?" His eyes were wide with wonder.

In answer, his mother drew several knives from her inner coat. Fili grinned sloppily as he saw they were his blades, designed by he himself and very lethal. "How?" He repeated his brother's question.

Dis looked saddened all of a sudden. "Dain said he buried your weapons with your bodies. Dawlin found these tossed in the armory with the orcish trash weapons."

Fili's jaw tightened and Kili let out a stream of profanity that drew a frown from his mother.

"I approached Dain."

Fili shook his head in amazement. "What if he'd offered to open our tombs and give us our weapons? He'd have seen we weren't dead."

Dis made a caustic face. "Naw. Dain wouldn't dare re-open so public a tomb. Not of good dwarvish heroes. He'd have to offer an explanation, king or no. Instead he offered me a portion of what would have been your shares of the treasure. Cheap bastard. To think I'd sell out your memories."

"You took it, mam. Right?" Kili nodded toward the large chests.

"Heavy with gold those are. But I won't keep one cent you paid for with your blood and pain. It's for you boys." Dis nodded at them, her voice going a bit hoarse with emotion. "Bargained for more than he offered, he would have been supsicious otherwise."

All the dwarven males nodded and chuckled, while the elves seemed lost at the idea of such avarice.

"We need to go." Tauriel interjected reluctantly, a sympathetic look in her eyes as she watched Kili's mother. "The children promised to not tell anyone they saw us. But they are children."

Dis sighed. "I wish you would have let me detain them."

"No, mam." Fili sighed and gave her a rough hug. Kili followed suit. But it was too short, and soon they were on their way.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"We could have carried the chests." Bofur looked over at the elves helping them along, as if not quite believing they had help.

Tauriel shrugged. "Just until the edge of the Mirkwood. Ponies will be waiting there for us then. It's all arranged."

Kili nodded silently. Not that he didn't have anything to say, but it was difficult keeping the pace and breathing with his still healing lung. And he didn't want to seem weak.

Fili was having his own problems. The farther they went, the more of a struggle his left leg gave him. At first he'd been trying to walk without a limp, now he was trying not to make noises with each step.

"We need a rest." Tauriel announced, then rolled her eyes as both brothers protested and exclaimed they didn't need a break.

"Fools." Legolas muttered, climbing a nearby tree to look out over the landscape.

Kili leaned heavily against another tree, his breathing labored and difficult. He shrugged off Tauriel's concern, embarrassed. But the she-elf was having none of that. She grabbed his chin and turned his head to look at her in the eyes.

Anger sparked in his dark eyes as he growled. She growled back down at him, startling him into a laugh. The mood broken, he smiled sheepishly. "You deserve better." He whispered.

From far way, Legolas snorted, his hearing excellent even for an elf. "Yes she does." He said cuttingly.

"I have my heart's desire." Tauriel smiled down at her shorter lover and leaned in, rubbing her silk-smooth cheek along the line of his bristly jaw. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips so as not to hinder his breathing. Kili took a deep breath, the first one without pain since they started out on this journey. "You are my heart."

From far away and standing in the tree, Legolas' jaw tightened.

Tauriel called up to the blond prince, ignoring his temper. "When were you going to tell them that we're being followed?"

"When I decided what to do about it." Legolas admitted with no inflection in his voice. "I like the man following us better than any dwarf."

Startled, Fili and Kili shot each other alarmed looks.

"Now that's good to hear." That man walked out of the underbrush, his bow held high, and aimed right at Fili's left eye.

Kili started forward, but was stopped by Tauriel's hand on his shoulder.

Fili smiled sadly. "So, the children told you."

Bard returned the smile, but his was far more predatory. "No. Tilda told Sigrid. Sigrid began crying all over again."

Fili shrugged and looked lost.

Bard sighed, letting his bow down so that the arrow pointed at the ground. "Tilda and Sigrid have cried for over a month over your deaths, the two of you. When I came back from initial greetings with King Thranduil, they were crying all over again."

"Sorry." Fili and Kili spoke together.

Bemused, Bard shrugged. "But this time they were grinning and holding onto each other and laughing. I couldn't get a word out of them. Bain was in the corner, he was smiling and looking disgusted at the girls' display all at the same time. Had to threaten, threaten my own son to get any kind of answer."

"What'd you threaten him with?" Kili asked, curious.

"Slop duty for six months." Bard made a face. "For the entire city of Dale."

Fili looked lost. Bofur cleared his throat. "World of Man stuff, he means latrine cleaning duty."

Both brothers immediately made faces in sympathy, nodding their appreciation of the threat.

Bofur was the one to come to the point. "So. Now you found us. Now what?"

Bard made a face and shrugged. "I don't understand the politics, I really don't. But I get that you have a good reason to be 'dead'. I'm assuming you don't want King Dain to know?"

Bofur shook his head, answering for all the dwarves.

"I owe him." Bard sighed. "But I owe you two as well. I'll keep your secret as long as you promise me you won't be coming back to try and claim his throne. Or raise an army against him."

"You and mam both." Muttered Fili. "We've already made this promise." He groused unhappily.

Bard nodded, and then named off some of the areas to avoid if they wanted to go unnoticed by Man or Dwarf patrols. Then he gestured for Fili to follow him a moment.

The blond dwarf shot a look at his brother and Kili nodded, he'd be watching his back. Fili moved over to the side of the clearing and looked up at Bard.

The Man wouldn't meet his eyes for a second and then took a deep breath. "You make any promises to my girl?"

Fili was utterly lost. "Tilda? Only that we wouldn't hurt her, asked her not to tell anyone she saw us."

Bard nodded and looked uncomfortable. "You could have hurt my kids."

"No we couldn't have." Fili's voice hardened.

The Man nodded in agreement and scratched the side of his face nervously. "And I thank you for that." He paused and then pushed ahead. "I mean Sigrid."

Now completely lost, Fili shrugged. "Didn't even see Sigrid."

Bard made a frown and shook his head. "Any romantic nonsense between you two that I don't know about?"

Fili spread his hands in surrender, to show he was unarmed, and completely taken by surprise. "What?"

The human father searched Fili's open expression suspiciously and then relaxed. "Just a girl's dreams then."

"Huh?" The young dwarf shook his head.

"Here." Bard stuck out a bright pink piece of cloth. "Sigrid wanted you to have this. For luck."

Fili took the square of pink silk, confused. "Is it enchanted?"

Bard chuckled. "Naw."

The dwarf held it up, turning it over and seeing Sigrid's monogram at one corner. "It's a signal of some kind."

The man choked and agreed. "A signal of interest. Which you will not return." He said with finality.

"Interest?" Fili was about to ask again, when his eyes widened almost comically.

Bard nodded. "You're getting there now lad. Like I said, the girls cried for a month at least."

"I didn't ...I mean, I wouldn't have ...I mean ..." Fili stumbled over his own tongue. "I didn't." He finally just ended there.

The archer, the killer of Smaug the Dragon, gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I owe you for that as well."

Fili watched Bard walk away, back to the main group. He saw his brother Kili give him a questioning look. But Fili was feeling too lost to answer. He shrugged and stuffed a pink square of silk into his jacket.

Sigrid? Sigrid? Really? Fili thought back to those chaotic days in Lake Town. He'd done nothing to call her interest, he was sure of it. And she was a pretty girl, for a human. But no beard and far too little bite. Still and all, it was a bit flattering. In an odd sort of way.

Suddenly he realized something important. He wasn't like his younger brother. He didn't want someone outside of their world. He wanted a dwarf maiden. A darrowdam. One who could take him on and with rosy cheeks and a broad laugh.

He'd not been looking forward to getting married before, not feeling like he'd been out in the world enough. Not seen or done nearly enough. And the dwarf maiden he'd been betrothed to had seemed more interested in politics than in him. Not to mention she'd had a very snorty laugh.

But now he knew that he wanted a female dwarf. And where he was going, wherever that was, he was unlikely to find what he wanted. Standing in the middle of the forest, surrounded by others, he had never felt more alone in his life.

Kili came up and knew immediately something was wrong. His face reflected instant concern. Fili shook his head, not wanting to leave this on his brother's shoulders. Not with a certain red-headed she-elf looking at them both. He was happy for his brother. Sincerely happy. Jealously happy perhaps.

"Bofur?" Bard was talking on the other side of the clearing. "How did you get leave from Dain? I thought you'd be ordered at his side, what with being one of the fourteen heroes of Erebor?"

The dwarf in question laughed and puffed at his pipe as he leaned lazily against a wooden stump. "I'm too injured to be of service."

Attention arrested, both Kili and Fili turned to stare at their long-time friend. Bofur looked the picture of health, rosy cheeks and all.

Bard seemed lost too, he chuckled and asked the obvious. "Injured, how?"

Bofur grinned and out of his jacket tugged a loop of cloth, he stuck his right arm through so that it rested against his ribs. "What good is a one-armed toy maker? Hmm?"

Bard rolled his eyes as both brothers began to laugh.


	9. Scent of a Troll

"Alrighty." Bofur looked out over the landscape, his eyes taking in the rolling hills liberally interspersed with wind chisled rocks. "Now'n what?"

Tauriel looked at Legolas and the other elves who had gotten the small group this far. Her hand tightened on the hilt of her sheathed blade.

Kili noticed her discomfort, but wasn't sure what to do, or say, that might help. He wanted to tell her she didn't have to come along, but his whole being rebelled at being that unselfless. He wanted her to come. With him. "Love?"

If the red-head heard him, she didn't react. She walked away from him. Right to Legolas. Kili's heart sped up. Fili walked up next to him, putting a brotherly arm around him. "She'll stand."

Kili shook his head and shrugged. "These are her people." He whispered. "This is her home."

Away from the dwarves, Legolas glanced back at the two brothers. Then his eyes moved to the elf standing in front of him. Secure in the knowledge that while he could hear what the brothers were saying, the return could not be said. Dwarven hearing was good, but elves were beyond excellence. His blue eyes found her green ones. "This IS your home."

Uncomfortable, the Silvan elf shook her head slightly. "It was once."

The blond prince let his jaw tighten, but if it was grief or anger she didn't know. "You were happy here."

Tauriel nodded without reluctance. Then she looked out over the territory awaiting her. Once more she looked back at Legolas, her friend. "I can't explain what you don't feel." She said cryptically. "I look out there and see a world that I have yet to discover. And I want to see it."

Legolas nodded carefully, too carefully. "You could, and still stay among us." He said, knowing that his father would not be for any of their kind exploring beyond their borders. Yet he had to try.

"No." The red head looked sad for a moment. "The world has been out there for 600 years. It will continue to be out there. But he ..."

"He will die." Legolas snapped, suddenly irate.

Tauriel's spine stiffened. "We all will pass, one day."

The blond turned away from her, looking back at the Mirkwood, back toward the homes of the Woodland elves. "I don't know that you would be welcomed back." His voice sounded lost.

"Yes, I would." Tauriel said with certainty. "But I won't come."

Blue eyes closed with pain, his face hidden from her sight. "Are dwarves that wonderful? They are greedy and stupid ..."

"Greedy?" She scoffed lightly. "He walks away from a throne, and a treasure."

"He has a treasure." Legolas whispered so softly, even she right next to him almost missed it.

Embarrassed, Tauriel didn't answer. Had he meant her? Was she the treasure mentioned? Surely not.

"At least he's tall, for a dwarf. Still ugly though." Legolas' voice hardened.

Tauriel shook her head slightly, her voice softening as she shot a glance at the dark-haired dwarf in question. "Not to me."

That softness in her voice sounded like a death knell to a certain blond Elvish prince. "I hate dwarves. And I always will."

"Never say that." Tauriel said slowly, wanting to reach for him to ease the hurt in his voice. But they had never had that kind of relationship. Maybe, once, if he hadn't been royalty and she hadn't been merely a Silven elf. But they were who they were. "One day, you might find they aren't as you see them."

Legolas shook his head, making a gesture to the other elves. They all moved off back into the woods. "I will never be friends with a dwarf."

Tauriel's head lowered as he walked away from her, walked away without looking back. But he stopped, at the edge of disappearing into the gloomy forest. "If things could have been different ..."

The red-headed she-elf felt the sadness down to the toes of her feet. "You will ever be my friend."

And if he wanted more? Legolas turned and gave her one last lingering look. Things weren't different. She was still Silvan. He was still a prince, and his father was a king who held these things to mean a lot. His blue eyes slid to a certain dark-haired figure and his heart hardened. His hand settled onto his own dagger while his fingers tingled, wanting to draw an arrow from it's quiver.

Then his attention moved to Tauriel. Had she moved? No. But the wind had caught the ends of her smooth red hair. He saw her eyes, looking back at him. Waiting. Could he be less than perfect? For her? With a sniff, and not a small amount of regret, the beautiful blond prince of the Woodland elves stepped back into the Mirkwood. Disappearing from sight.

Tauriel's breath stilled for a second. Would she ever again see her friend? Was he still her friend? So lost in her thoughts was she, that Kili stepped up next to her without her noticing.

He didn't clear his throat, or cough. He was simply there. Suddenly hyperaware, she felt rather than saw him look down at his boots. "A prince is a far better bet than an exiled and 'dead' former heir."

Poor Kili. He sounded like the words might strangle him. Tauriel couldn't help herself, she did something very un-elfin. She teased him. "You're right. I should go back."

A strangled sound of protest and panic had her turning to look at her lover. Dark eyes were wide with shock, eyebrows arching heavily as he shook his head in mute denial. "Well, if you don't mean it, don't say it." She chided gently.

Those same dark eyes narrowed suspiciously. She gave away nothing with her calm demeanor and expressionless face. Still, he must of seen something in her eyes for he suddenly relaxed and waved a hand at the departing elves. "If you think they're ..."

Tauriel caught his hand and brought it up to her cheek, running her silky smooth complexion over his still calloused fingers.

Kili lost his words and his thoughts as his attention span focused on that simple, yet highly charged, touch. Parts of his anatomy suddenly demanded a higher amount of his blood supply.

"You were saying?" She prompted him, her voice still gentle.

"Hmm?" The besotted dwarf murmured.

Tauriel smiled against his palm as she turned her head and placed a kiss just there. "You had some thoughts?"

Oh he had thoughts alright. Kili shifted his weight uncomfortably, his pants no longer roomy enough and with sudden clarity he remembered they weren't alone. "Damn it."

Fili and Bofur looked at each other and then busied themselves with the ponies, triple checking the bindings on their belongings needlessly. The blond dwarf looked over at Bofur and shrugged helplessly. "So. Where ARE we going then?"

Bofur pursed his lips and nodded absently. "Rush decision. We'un can go anywhere. Well, except Dale. Not there."

"Nor Erebor." Fili added with some asperity.

Bofur nodded with a bit more strength to the movement. "Oh, and not Lake Town. Not that there is a Lake Town anymore, but it'd be wise not to go out that way right yet."

"Blue Mountains are out."

"So are the Iron Hills."

"Oh, that goes without saying."

"Well, I said it anyway."

"Moria is out." Fili continued. "Going to be a lot of fighting out that way, what with Dawlin and Balin going to clear it of Orcs and Trolls."

"Goblins." Bofur agreed.

Fili grimaced. "Can't forget the goblins. Not with the way they stink."

Bofur paused to consider the question. "Oh? I thought'n that Trolls smelled way worse than goblins."

"Oh no." The blond dwarf shook his head with mock sadness. "I think the pipeweed has killed your smeller. Definitely goblins are worst. Except for Orcs."

"Right you are. Orcs are stinkers."

With that, Bofur and Fili fell silent and just looked at each other. Then the older of the two dwarfs smiled. "If'n we looked, do you think those two are still clothed?"

Reluctantly they turned at the same time, only to discover two fully grown individuals staring back at them. Tauriel looked haughty while Kili looked disgruntled. "Still clothed? Still clothed? What do you take us for?"

"Apparently a war hammer of dwarven make and design." Fili prompted with a leer. "Or at least a chisel. A tiny one."

Bofur chuckled. "Oh! Like they use when mining out the smallest of gem stones."

Kili choked and sputtered in fury.

Tauriel watched her lover's face turn a strange shade of puce with something akin to awe.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

They broke camp in the shelter of a rock cliff. The group had not gone as far as any of them would have liked. But Fili's still healing leg and Kili's decreased endurance from his lung injury had slowed them up. Tauriel had volunteered for the first watch.

Kili opened his mouth to volunteer with her, but clamped his mouth shut suddenly when his older brother struck him in the back of the head.

"Damn it!" Came the muffled shout as Kili's hands went to his mouth. "I bitmh may tonne."

Tauriel blinked with surprise and stared at Fili in question. The older of the two brothers pretended innocence and shrugged. "He said he bit his tongue." He translated unnecessarily.

The red-headed she elf's green eyes narrowed dangerously, a wicked slant to them that had the blond dwarf backing up a step. "Hey! You two can't stay up together. They only thing you'll be on watch for is each other."

The elf's jaw tightened and she fingered the hilt of her blade. "I would never be so derelict in my duties." Her voice dripped with a barely leashed temper.

Surprised, Fili nodded and held out his hands in surrender. "Maybe you wouldn't."

"HEY!" Protested Kili, he blotted at his tongue with his sleeve, surprised his mouth wasn't bleeding. "Do you mean that I would?! When have I ever ..."

"Ponies." Fili slid the word in like a verbal knife.

"NOT MY FAULT!" Yelped Kili, his eyes wide. "Not ALL my fault, anyway. You distracted me, sending me off to investigate strange noises."

"I went with you." Fili offered the verbal peace, even as he found a fairly flat piece of rock to sit on. His left leg was killing him, slowly he stretched his toes as far as he could within the confines of his boots.

Tauriel cocked her head slightly to one side, her red hair pushed behind her ears becomingly. "Then you both left the ponies?"

Bofur started whistling tunelessly and rolled out his sleeping blankets, shaking them carefully to avoid any biting critters. He thought balefully about a fire, but figured they were trying to keep a low profile out here. Too many roaming orcs and goblins and ..."does that smell like Troll?"

Fili blushed and shot Bofur an evil glance as he finished pulling off his boots. "Very funny."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"It's not a firemoon." Kili looked up at the night sky, as if blaming the universe for not being what he wanted right at that moment.

Tauriel looked around carefully, taking note of every little sign to tell her what was out there in the dark. "You should be asleep." She told him, but without any bite in her voice.

Kili watched her move her head. She wasn't trying to be beautiful, or sexy, or graceful. She just was all those things and more. He sighed.

Mistaking this sound, Tauriel frowned. "Are you in pain?"

Kili raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement, but didn't admit that the pain he was in was due to a more personal reason than she was asking about. "I'm breathing fine." Was all he would admit to at the moment.

"Then you should sleep." It wasn't a command, which he appreciated. And he was learning to read the different shades within her smooth voice. She was concerned.

"I should take this watch." Kili told her. "I can't sleep right now."

Suprised, Tauriel's eyes found him in the dark unbroken by a campfire they'd all deemed too dangerous out here. Her night vision was excellent, and he looked alright enough. "Why can't you sleep?"

"You're not beside me." Kili told her.

Green eyes widened as she stared at him. They'd only spent one night together in that manner, surely he wasn't used to having her with him so soon?

"Or my arm is aching and my chest feels like it's on fire." He grinned at her. "You pick."

The she-elf sighed at his antics and pointed toward his pack. "You have ointments ..."

"That make me smell like flowers, yes, I know." Kili grimaced. "And I used it too, trust me."

She did trust him, besides, she could indeed smell the slightly floral scent the medics used in the compound. "Herbs." She lied to him.

"Flowers." He sighed. "Very un-dwarven."

She smiled in the dark and sniffed the air again. This time there was something just on the edge of her senses. The she-elf stiffened.

Kili, attuned to her body language as he was, stiffened as well. He looked around, but could see nothing. "Tauriel?"

"Orc."

The dark-haired dwarf fingered his bow and sniffed the air. "Could be Fili's feet again." But even as he said that, he could tell that this scent was darker, fouler, and ...far too close.

Tauriel motioned toward the two sleeping dwarves. Kili nodded and moved toward the cliff face with the overhang protecting both Fili and Bofur. He shook them awake silently, and to their credit they made very little sound.

Fili shot his brother a look of question, then they all stopped and listened. Above them, on the rockface over their shelter, there came the sound of claws on stone.


	10. Scream

"Not worth'n the effort." Bofur looked sadly down at the pitiful remains of the bear. The poor beast looked half starved and with great chunks of skin and hair missing. Now it was dead, perforated by two arrows and several sword cuts.

"I think the Orcish smell is because it ate one." Fili pointed at the bits of rotten flesh still caught in the beast's mouth. "It's a wonder it wasn't already dead of indigestion."

After his own bout with stomach ailments and a healing gut, Kili winced and rubbed his own belly in sympathy. "Not funny."

"We'un have to move on though." Bofur sighed, looking out at the night sky. "Not much of a moon to guide us."

"Not much of a moon to reveal us." Tauriel countered, her sharp eyes scanning the horizon, even in the darkness.

The older of the three dwarves nodded. "Sorry boys, we can't rest here."

Fili was already gathering their gear, nodding. The scent of a fresh kill would soon draw other interested parties. Wildlife, goblins, orcs, or ...you never knew. "We can't take the time to butcher him for meat."

The she-elf shuddered and shook her head. "Especially not when I know he'd been gnawing on Orcs."

"Does rather spoil the taste of the meat." Agreed Bofur, shouldering his pack. He glanced over at Kili, the darkness hiding his concern. "You're awful quiet all of a sudden, laddie."

Kili flashed a quick grin and forced a laugh. "Fine, I'm fine."

Tauriel and Fili both instantly recognized the falseness of the cheer. If Bofur noticed, he didn't say.

The youngest dwarf grabbed his pack, rearranging items with more force than was strictly necessary. Tauriel stepped toward him and he turned slightly, his back to her. Shocked, she stilled.

Fili's eyes narrowed on his brother's back, he had a pretty good idea what was wrong. He gave a wave at the she-elf, her green eyes turned to him and he jerked his head over toward Bofur.

Tauriel looked again at Kili's back, reading his tension. Reluctantly she stepped away, grabbing what supplies they'd pulled from the ponies and turning to load them up once more. If her own movements were a bit more forceful than usual, Fili couldn't tell, but he certainly suspected.

Fili walked over to his brother, handing over the arrow he'd pulled from the bear's carcass. "It didn't chip."

Silence.

But then Fili wasn't an older brother for nothing. He would not be ignored.

"I thought elf maidens were too thin."

Silence. But Kili's jaw tightened and his brother could swear he could hear the teeth grinding.

"All your children will be taller than you."

Kili looked up, eyes flashing with temper.

"She'll leave you the first time you pass gas in her presence. Her being an elf and all. Do you think they ever have gas? Will it come out perfumed or something?"

Shock. Silence. Wide eyes. Then a sudden bark of laughter. The edge of temper sliding away, Kili shook his head at his older brother. "Idiot." He said fondly.

"You didn't miss." Fili got right to the point, handing over the arrow he'd already wiped clean of gore.

Kili's mouth tightned, some of his laughter fading into gloom. He sighed and yanked the arrow out of his brother's grasp. "I didn't hit what I was aiming for."

"You hit the bear."

"It was a big bear." Kili protested.

The blond dwarf shook his head. "Only a wee middling bear. Starving. Could see his ribs. Easy to miss. And you didn't."

The younger brother sighed deeply, replacing the arrow with his others in the quiver. "Close range. It wasn't a good shot." They both knew he meant it hadn't been a killing shot. "And I only got off one good one."

"The arm is healing, Kili." Fili put both hands on his brother's shoulders. "It's too soon, it's still healing."

"It's stiff." Kili whispered.

"Painful." Fili nodded. "My leg too."

Temper abated, both brothers stood together in the night, wondering at fate. Fili thought he knew what was bothering his brother, so Kili's next words shocked him a bit. "We shouldn't have survived."

Surprised, Fili blinked, his mind having to jump gears. "Not without Thorin, you mean?"

Kili nodded with dark sadness. "We're starting a new life. That's not fair."

"New life for sure. You're married." Teased the blond, hoping to shift his brother's mood.

Kili waved that off with a weak chuckle. "Handfasted."

"Without Thorin." Fili finished, his voice suddenly solemn. He paused, then thinned his lips as he continued. "Gandalf told me it wasn't a failure to survive."

Kili made an extremely rude noise.

"Hey!" Fili's voice brightened cheerfully. "We tried our damnedest to die. So what if an unearthly beauty decided you were too ugly to die?"

"What?" Kili sputtered, coughing as he tried to catch his breath and laugh all at the same time.

"It's the only thing I could figure. Tauriel has to see SOMETHING in you that no one else does. Scrawny thin, no-bearded, baby."

Kili struck his brother, sending him staggering back one step.

Off to the side, Tauriel straightened and started for the brothers. Bofur gave her a sharp whistle and shook his head at her. "Brothers."

"Cocky, stupid, ass!" Kili pointed at his older brother.

Both stood looking at each other for a long, long moment. Then suddenly, as if in unison, they laughed and opened their arms. The hug was dwarven big, as was the laughter.

Tauriel stared, she turned wide eyes back at Bofur who was smiling. He shrugged. "Brothers."

The red-head shook her head very slightly. "I'm 600 years old, I've known brothers before."

Bofur shrugged and thumped his own chest heartily. "Okay then. Dwarves. Dwarven brothers. Better?"

Still bemused, Tauriel felt herself nod even as she watched the unusual display. Unusual for an elf, that is.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Almost daylight." Bofur noted, a yawn creaking his jaw as the group settled into the small cave. He looked around suspiciously and stamped the floor several times with his big boots.

Tauriel watched him, wondering what he was doing.

Fili grinned weakly, leaning heavily against a rock outcropping, obviously spent. "Last cave we slept in the floor dropped out from under us and we was captured by goblins."

Kili laughed, looking only slightly better than his older brother. "That was fun."

Both Fili and Bofur stared at the younger dwarf, who shrugged. "Well, it was."

Bofur coughed and looked pointedly at Tauriel. "You sure'n about your choice, lassie?"

Tauriel turned to the ponies, pulling on some of the ties. "This is an elfin safe place. There is more than merely rock protecting this cave. We can all rest here today."

Bofur made a face and looked at Kili and winked. "Boy, you'un got some making up to do."

Tauriel murmured several phrases in her native tongue, and suddenly all three dwarves stiffened as something powerful ran over their skin. Goosebumps ran up and down their bodies.

Bofur shook himself slightly and looked wide-eyed at the elf. "What'n was that?"

The red-head gave a small smile as she continued unpacking a few things. "Asking the magic guarding this place to recognize the three of you as friends. You not being Elves and all."

"I guess you can't be too mad, if you included me." Kili walked up beside his elfish lover, reaching out to help her. With his left hand.

Quicker than a snake strike, she turned and grabbed his right arm. Kili winced, but didn't protest.

Fili and Bofur turned away and headed to the opposite side of the cave. It was small, but large enough to offer a small amount of privacy. They could still hear though.

Tauriel lifted his arm, elbow straight, all the way until he looked like he was reaching for the ceiling. He smiled. She lowered his arm, and turned it so that the palm was facing upward. His smile slipped away, there was some stiffness there. His lover then bent his elbow and it got tighter and tighter, but did manage to close completely. Now his face was immobile as he tried to hide the soreness.

With the elbow still bent, Tauriel moved his arm away from his body, out toward the side like a chicken wing. His shoulder protested immediately. Kili shifted his weight and pressed his lips together, refusing to make a sound. Now, with the elbow still out to the side, she lifted his hand and began to move it behind his head. External rotation of the shoulder, as if he were to lay back with his hands under his head. Kili's face whitened and he stepped away from her before completing the movement. Because he couldn't complete the movement. He grimaced, pulling his arm from her hands with a jerk.

She let him go.

"You've made your point." He snarled, shaking his arm a bit.

Tauriel's own lips tightened. "Have I? Your arm isn't completely healed, not yet. You can't hold yourself to the same standards that you did ..."

"Wouldn't you?" Kili bit out the words, frustrated.

Taken aback she shook her head. "Don't you mean that I can't expect to be as good as I was before, but you have no clue how good I was with a bow. Or a blade. Or anything else other than maybe a barrel." His voice sounded unusually bitter.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He didn't answer. From the other side of the cave, Bofur decided enough was enough. "You're always rescuing him, lass. Bad for a dwarf's sense of manhood."

As quick as that, Kili drew an arrow and shot Bofur's hat off his head. The dwarf blinked, then smiled happily. "See? Perfect shot!"

"I missed." Groused Kili. "I was aiming for your eye."

Bofur's grin slipped, then he shrugged. "He's only kidding."

Tauriel wasn't so sure. "Does this go back to what you were talking about the other night, that you don't want to be bossed around or treated like a baby?"

Kili's eyes widened as she mentioned their bedroom talk, he flushed slightly and shot a glance at his brother and Bofur. "Shhh."

"Shut up." The red-headed elf looked at him, her green eyes full of warmth. "I know your worth, my love. I know you were part of a group of fourteen off to slay a dragon and claim a mountain. And it worked. That does not show me weakness."

"Wasn't at the mountain." Grumbled a slightly mollified dwarf.

Tauriel pushed his good shoulder slightly. "Not at first, but you were later. Still healing from a fell wound to your leg too, which was brave even if it wasn't the smartest thing to do. And should I even bring up how you jumped from the river to release the lever on the gate, which is how you came to be wounded in the first place?"

"Yes, mention that. I think it'll help!" Fili called out, giving her a thumb's up.

Kili growled at the two dwarves off on the other side of the cave. "I think we can end this now, it's a little less than private." He still sounded grumpy, but his face had lightened and the terrible tension with which he'd been holding himself seemed to disappear.

"You may not have died, but you stood with your Uncle until the very end. You did not break, nor run, nor show any weakness during that last battle. You stood tall."

"For a dwarf." He chuckled.

She caught his face in her hand and looked deeply into his eyes. "For anyone." The two stared into each other's gazes for a long moment of shared closeness.

Until Bofur whistled piercingly. "Kiss her you fool!"

Both Kili and Tauriel smiled and turned away, the mood broken. But both feeling much better. "Well." The she-elf smiled. "We made it through our first argument intact."

Kili looked puzzled. "What argument?"

Fili and Bofur walked over to the two and she looked at them for support, but they looked just as bemused as Kili did. "Still should have kissed her, lad." Bofur whispered loudly.

The older of the two brothers clapped his hands together. "That was no argument."

Tauriel looked back and forth between each of the dwarves, feeling a bit lost. "It wasn't?"

"Well'n. For an elf maybe." Bofur allowed. "Perhaps, don't know for sure. But not for a dwarf."

"No?" The red-head looked like she was sure they were pulling her leg.

Fili smiled. "No broken dishes."

"No broken bones." Bofur nodded, content.

Kili's smile matched his brother's. "No weapons drawn."

Tauriel had to point out the obvious. "You shot at Bofur."

The eldest of the three dwarves waved off that incidental. "Naw, that twern't nothing."

"I think I have a lot to get used to." Tauriel mused aloud.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili rolled out his gear, glad that Tauriel had said they could have a fire at the entrance of the cave. The elf assured them that the place was spelled, and completely safe. No one but another elf could even tell they were there. "Handy trick you have here."

"Oh, it's not mine." The Silvan elf frowned slightly. "It's an art lost to us really. From an earlier era. We can trigger the spells, but we no longer know the trick of making them."

"That's too bad." Bofur settled down, his belly full enough of camp stew. Hardy, but hardly gourmand. He burped happily. Now he was ready to sleep. "It's handy not to have to mount a watch."

Fili nodded, climbing into his own sleeping gear. But something was different. And he didn't have to look far to know what it was. His brother wasn't next to him.

Fili and Kili. Brothers. Assigned together to most chores. Watching each other's backs. Their gear always right next to each other. Until now.

The older of the two brothers glanced balefully over at Kili as he slid into his own sleeping gear. Did he even recognize that things were different? Sure, fine. He was handfasted now. Tauriel had the place by Kili's side, and that was right.

But he would miss his brother's closeness. Waking up to find Kili smug with some idea for mischief. Or dragging a still half-asleep Kili off on some adventure or another. Feeling a little abandoned, he watched Tauriel strip down her outer travel clothing and slip in beside his brother.

"He's still Kili, lad." Bofur seemed right on top of things, as usual. Fili tried to ignore the sharp-eyed toymaker. "You ain't lost him. You'll understand once you find yourself'n a wife."

A wife. Fili stared up at the top of the cave. Now where was he going to find a suitable dwarven maid? Feeling sorry for himself, he turned his head away from the others and hoped they believed him asleep. But the day defeated him. They'd trekked all day, and most the night as well. He was exhausted, and within moments not even angst could keep him awake any longer. A snort, and then a familiar snore. Fili was gone.

Kili lifted his head and looked over at where his brother lay. It did feel awfully strange sleeping so far away from the blond dwarf. But Tauriel slipping into their joined sleeping blankets helped. Helped a lot.

"Mmm ...you're warm. Hot. I like that."

Amused, Kili opened his arms and she slid in close to him. Immediately he hissed as she did indeed feel cold to him. He wrapped himself happily around her. "I thought elves didn't feel the effects of weather."

"We'd like you to think so." Tauriel savored the heat he was generating. "The High Elves do a better job of that than we Silvan elves."

Kili felt her hand slide inside his under-tunic, running her fingers through his chest hair and resting over his heart.

"She walks in wind and starlight  
beauty untold and grace beyond measure  
Red, green and gold ..."

"Gold?" She questioned.

Kili shushed her, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "It sounds better than cream, and easier to rhyme. Besides, dwarves like gold."

"Stream." She murmured close to his ear, bringing a shiver of delight down his spine.

"Hmmm." Kili tightened his arm around her.

The she-elf smiled against his ear, he could actually feel her facial expression. "Rhymes with cream."

"Doesn't fit with what I want to say." Protested Kili softly. "Stream?"

"Dream?" She offered.

Kili smiled as her fingers began tracing something on his chest. "What are you doing?"

"I like the way your chest feels. The hair." She tugged lightly on his chest hair in demonstration and then she shivered slightly. "The muscles."

The dwarf grinned in the darkness. "Elves are strong."

"Yes." She admitted. "But they don't ..." Her fingers traced the lines of muscle on his chest and upper abdomen, making him suck in his breath as his body reacted. "Bulk up like you do."

"I'm scrawny right now. After you starved me." He teased. "Just wait."

"Scream."

Confused, Kili turned his head, trying to read her face. "Huh?"

"It rhymes with cream."

All of a sudden several possible verses popped into his fertile mind and Kili chuckled. "Just what kind of song do you want me to write for you?" He half-choked. "Wherein I make you scream?"

Tauriel blushed, not having deliberately brought up such as subject. "I'm just saying that it rhymes."

Fili snorted from the other side of the fire, and the two lovers stilled. The she-elf sighed, shifting closer to her dwarven companion, kissing the side of his face. "Goodnight."

"Not as good as it could have been." Mourned Kili with a sleepy leer.


	11. Sometimes Things are Stewing

"We can take an extra day." Bofur said, keeping a cautious eye on the storm outside the cave.

Fili groaned and rubbed his swollen knee. "Not for my sake."

Bofur made a face and shook his head. "For mine. It be wet out there, and unlike our way'n out here we're not in hurry."

"Unless Bard informed Dain's people that Fili and I are alive." Kili pointed out, stirring the camp stew with interest.

From his seat upon a boulder, Fili stared down at a certain pink monogrammed cloth, rubbing it between his fingers. "He wouldn't."

The younger of the two dwarven brothers never looked up even as he smiled happily, sniffing the rich and meaty stew. "You don't know that."

"Yes I do." Fili said softly, feeling the silky smoothness of the pink token in his hand. The father who'd given him this, the man who'd slain Smaug, would not betray them like that.

Humming with anticipation, Kili smiled, dipping the ladle into the stewy goodness. His mouth watered.

"You're not supposed to be eating that'n lad." Bofur pointed out lazily.

"You going to turn tell-tale?" Kili rejoined, looking up with a grin. He spied his brother and nodded at the pink cloth that Fili was holding onto. "What's that?"

Fili quickly stuffed the token into his tunic. "Nothing." He shot a glance at his little brother and then away. Looking back at Kili he raised one eyebrow as he spoke. "Tauriel will have our heads if we let you eat that."

"She went out scouting. Are you really going to try and stop me?" Kili glanced at his brother, puzzled at the mirth on Fili's face. He straightened up, quickly suspicious. "What?"

"Would you have let him eat this?" The voice came from behind Kili, who'd not heard the approach of the she-elf and former captain of the king's guard. Her hand, with long elegant fingers, wrapped around Kili's own hand from behind.

The dark-eyed dwarf sighed, resigned, even as he offered a token protest. "Just a taste?" He wheedled.

Tauriel raised the ladle to her own lips, even though Kili didn't let go. His hand went high as she took a sip. "Hmm ...not bad."

"I wouldn't know." Grumped Kili.

The red-head looked down and saw the pleading in her lover's expressive eyes. "Please, my sweet?"

"My sweet?" She moved her mouth as she spoke, as if tasting the words on her tongue. Turning quickly, the ladle slipped from Kili's hand as she pulled a second pot from the fire, one filled with rice.

Kili groaned as she served the rice in an empty bowl, then brightened as she dipped the ladle into the meaty stew. "Really?"

Tauriel used her spoon to strain out the bigger chunks of meat and vegetables, especially the carrots, until all that was left in the ladle was the thick and rich broth. This she poured liberally over the rice before handing it back to Kili.

The dark-haired archer looked balefully down at his bowl, and then over to the stew pot hanging over the fire. A glance down at his bowl revealed ... "there's no meat."

"If you don't want that ..." Tauriel reached for his bowl again, and Kili's eyes went wide as he stepped back quickly. Managing to move his bowl out of her reach.

"Didn't say I didn't want it."

Bofur chuckled as Kili cautiously reached for a large spoon, keeping his eyes on Tauriel lest she try to wrest the bowl back away from him. "I take it nothing is moving out there?"

Tauriel shrugged, divesting herself of her thick cloak that was wet but had kept her warm and dry enough beneath. "It is difficult to know, the weather is not aiding us."

"We should move on." Fili said, feeling anxious to be going.

Bofur nodded as he lit his ever-present pipe, drawing in the pipeweed with a long pull and a smile. "Where?"

Fili scowled. "Gondor? Rohan?"

Kili moaned with pleasure as he ate the rice covered with the rich gravy. "You know what would make this better?"

"Meat." Bofur, Tauriel and Fili all said in unison.

Only slightly abashed, Kili grinned and took another bite.

"Soon, my love." Tauriel sat down next to him, on a lower boulder. She was still taller even so, but the difference wasn't quite so much sitting that way. She leaned closer to him, taking his hand in hers and directing his spoon toward her own mouth.

"Now lassie, taking food from a hungry dwarf is dangerous business." Bofur teased.

Kili watched as the spoon he held disappeared into Tauriel's mouth. Her expressive and full lips closed over the utensil in a sinfully sensuous manner. His eyes sparked in response. When she licked the spoon clean, her spring-green eyes found his own gaze. He moaned.

Fili's eyebrows shot up as he watched, and quickly turned away with a light blush on his cheeks. "Well, if you're going to starve a dwarf ...that's the way to do it."

"Fili? Bofur? Go away." Kili's voice sounded harsh.

His brother sighed, rubbed his aching knee and shut him down. "No. It's wet and miserable out there. And my leg hurts."

"Aye'n I just lit me pipe." Bofur didn't move a muscle, other than to take another long drag and blow a perfect smoke ring.

The sound of the wind increased, and the rain started hammering down even harder. Fili shook his head. "No."

Bofur paused, as if listening to something outside. "You sure we're invisible in here?"

Tauriel helped guide Kili's hand back to the bowl, this time she directed the spoon to his own mouth. Yet her eyes never left his. Shivers ran down his spine in a happy tingle. "Nay, not invisible. Hidden. No orc or goblin could break the spell. A troll might break the rock, but why? Only the elves could sense this place and the magics that shadow it."

Bofur sat up quickly as the scrape of a boot on rock came to him. Tauriel stiffened as well.

Weapons were drawn, with Fili rising to his feet and daggers within both hands. He ignored the twinge of pain from his left leg, his eyes on the entrance to the cave.

Kili's hand fell onto his own blade, his bow lamentably out of his reach. But Tauriel's hand covered his, and she smiled. She called out something in the Elven language.

Bofur's tension level dropped when the answer came back to them, in Elvish. His weapons didn't lower though, not yet. Tauriel shot him a look. "Well'un, the first time we crossed paths with you'n, well we got put in prison."

The she-elf thought that over a moment, then nodded in understanding. She called out something further in her native tongue.

A question was asked in response. Fili didn't understand the words, but he did catch the inflection. He watched Tauriel as she seemed to answer the question.

Slowly, several elves walked in, pushing back their hoods to show their faces. Hands were on hilts, but their weapons were not drawn. Tall, slender, graceful and with skin like starlit cream. Long falls of hair caught back in jeweled or carved pieces of ornament. Hair the colors of brown, black, blond and gold. Definitely elves.

The leader, so Fili surmised since he was in the lead and the one speaking, asked another question as he gestured around the cave. Interestingly enough, Tauriel's alertness had risen, not fallen.

"How about talking so we might all understand?" Bofur sounded a might peeved.

The leader of the elves, Fili counted five in all, nodded gracefully but not low. Doubtless he didn't think a dwarf needed such as sign of respect. "Of course. Our apologies." The voice was smooth as glass and even full of a bit of humor.

"Your business this far from your home." Tauriel asked suspiciously, her blades ready to fly at a moments notice.

The elvish leader gestured toward his travel cloak and robes. He reached slowly beneath the cloak and gave Tauriel a long look as he paused, clearly wanting her to know he was reaching for something other than a weapon. He pulled out a round disk, a stylized tree was carved from the center.

Tauriel's tension melted away and she gave a small bow of her own. "My apologies."

Fili stared at the disk and shrugged.

"It is a token of safe passage, sent by King Thranduil himself." The leader said gently, his dark eyebrows rising as he gestured towards the elves with him. "We travel from the Grey Havens at the Woodland king's request."

"A fair and length journey." Tauriel gifted the group with a small smile. "You are not far from the Mirkwood."

"That is good." The leader pushed his long dark hair behind his ear and gestured around them. "We sensed this place and the safety it represents. We did not mean to intrude." He looked at Tauriel, noting that she was Silvan and that her company was with dwarves. "I am Eloyne of Grey Havens."

He outranked her. Tauriel dropped her gaze. He outranked her by a lot. High Elf, most certainly. "Tauriel, formerly of King Thranduil's guard. We travel as well."

Eloyne's eyes widened a bit, as if surprised she travelled with the dwarves and not having met up here by accident. "Formerly?"

The red-headed she-elf pulled out a disk of her own, this one without the formal carving, but painted a rich green.

The High Elf relaxed with a smile.

Kili eyed the disk, a question in his eyes. Tauriel handed it to him. "Proof of not having deserted and released by the king's will."

The elves watched the byplay with passive interest. Kili wasn't sure that he liked the way their eyes fell on Tauriel. He frowned sharply.

"Have we offended?" Eloyne asked, not missing Kili's change of mood. Or the posessive way he stepped closer to the she-elf.

Tauriel shook her head slightly. "I wear his blue and silver gift." She reached back and touched the clasp holding back a portion of her long hair.

Surprise flashed across the eyes of the elven party, quickly being schooled into polite greetings as they each nodded at Kili with more respect than they'd yet shown.

"A kingly gift?" One of the other elves asked.

Tauriel shook her head. "By choice."

Bofur coughed and shrugged, trying to ease the mood. "We'un have some hot stew. Not enough for all, but enough to take the edge off until more can be cooked."

At this Eloyne's smile brightened. "We are not without supplies as well, but would not turn down anything already hot."

Bofur headed for the fire as the newcomers joined him, glad to shed their wet outer garments.

Kili leaned close to Tauriel. "What did he mean by kingly gift? That my hair clasp wasn't good enough for you?"

The red-head gave him a soft look and shook her head. "He was asking if we were handfasted at the king's order. I told him it was by choice. Mine."

Kili looked down at his boots, then back up at her. His eyes traced the deceptively soft curve of her cheek. "The gift isn't good enough for you. When we get settled, wherever we get settled, I'll craft something far more suitable."

Tauriel's heart sped up at the determination in his voice, her hand rising automatically to her hair. She touched the silver clasp and shook her head in denial. "I will love any gift from you, but I will never give up this one."

"What if I'd not had anything silver on me?" Kili asked her, unsure.

The she-elf reached out, pushing his hair behind his ear. Her fingers brushing the curve of his jaw. "It's called the blue and silver gift for tradition, but it doesn't actually have to be silver. It's symbolic."

"Gift giving is symbolic to dwarves as well. I should have crafted you something from my own specialty." Kili reached out and tugged gently on a handful of her long tresses.

"Specialty?" She asked gently.

Kili flashed her a cheeky grin. "My brother is a blacksmith, and specializes in weapons."

"And you?"

Kili sighed and shrugged. "Thorin said I lacked focus. I'm an adventurer."

"And so, what would you craft?" She teased.

The dark-eyed dwarf pursed his lips together and gave her a bold look. "Bringing you a dragon hide or something ..."

"Don't you dare." She hissed. "One dragon faced down in a lifetime is more than enough."

"Excuse me?"

Tauriel turned, seeing what the newcomer's question was.

Kili though, tuned them out. Until just a few moments ago, he'd actually kind of treated the whole handfasting business as a lark. He didn't feel married.

But the elves, they'd seen him as different ...but only once they knew he and Tauriel were handfasted. But by dwarven standards, they weren't. He'd not courted her, not properly.

His dark eyes roamed freely over the beautiful elf maid. Slender as a reed, but strong. So strong. Lethal. He'd seen her fight. The former-captain was a killing machine. And that didn't bother him in the slightest. It made him value her all the more.

And yet all she had from him was a silver hair clasp that he'd not even crafted himself. Oh, that would not do. Not for her. Yes, Thorin had often moaned that he lacked focus. That he was too reckless and often immature. But she. Oh she. Tauriel made him want to be so much more. Give her so much more. Especially since she asked for nothing.

Kili's mind raced with ideas and planning.

"Where are you heading?" Eloyne asked Bofur as the group settled down. Kili was shocked to see that the stew pot was nearly empty, but that two plump rabbits were now cleaned and skewered and roasting over the flames.

"Away." Bofur dismissed the question with a charming smile. "To visit kin."

Kili didn't want the elves to know where they were thinking of heading. What if anyone asked them if they'd met anyone on the road? Better not to divulge information like that. But how to change the topic?

"There's just a bit left in the stew pot, anyone in need before the rabbits are done?" Fili asked, beating his brother to the punch.

Kili watched the rabbits mournfully, knowing without asking that there was no way Tauriel would let him have even a mouthful. "I'd like some more stew." He sounded so sad.

Elyone and the other elves looked startled.

Tauriel dished the last of the rice into his bowl and smiled at him. She turned to the other elves and shrugged lightly. "Healing gut wound."

Sympathy flowed out of the elven delegation. But no stew.


	12. Loss

Fili stoked the fire awake in a desultory manner, looking bored as if he couldn't think of anything else to do.

Waking quickly, the younger brother yawned even as he realized he was alone under the blankets. He grinned engagingly and sat up, stretching as he took note of where his she-elf was sitting. Then he looked over at his older sibling. There his gaze stopped. He acted as if nothing were wrong, but his dark eyes were sharp as he watched Fili. There was too much tension in his brother's body language.

The blond dwarf gave Kili a glance from the corner of his eyes, and then looked over at where the elves where sitting. The group from the Grey Havens were speaking quietly to Tauriel in their racial language. His jaw tightened. The red-haired female seemed very at ease with their visitors.

"Morning." Kili tested the waters, wondering why his older brother seemed to be in a mood.

Fili turned his head finally, looking at Kili before looking away. "You're not dressed." He returned his attention back to the fire, but this time seemed intent on his task and not merely aimless.

Beyond surprised, Kili shot a glance at Bofur, who was silently watching everything while filling his pipe. The older dwarf shrugged as if to say he didn't know either, which was only partially true.

Kili looked down at himself. Well, sure he'd not worn his outer coat and tunic to bed, but he was still wearing his shirt. Mostly. It was unbuttoned, but he wasn't going to apologize if Tauriel liked to sleep with her hand resting on his chest. With her fingers tangled in his dark chest hair, her palm resting right over his heart. No, he wasn't going to apologize. It wasn't as if his pants were unbuttoned. He grimaced. More the shame. But there was no privacy out on their journey. Thinking of which ...

"Still raining?" Kili asked, frowning as Fili didn't answer him.

In the awkwardness of the following silence, Bofur watched both brothers. The elves stopped speaking as well, and while they did not appear to be interested, they were watching. Tauriel's expression was blank and unreadable.

Finally Bofur gave a patently false cough and jerked his head slightly toward the cave opening. "Raining? No. It's a deluge. We're'n lucky the cave hasn't flooded."

Elyone the elf spoke then, his voice lightly solemn. "Not luck."

Bofur's eyebrows raised. "Spell?"

The elf's dark hair shone glossily from the light of their fire, but even though it was morning there was little to no light from the sky outside their cave. "Not ours." He paused as if listening to something far distant, even though the dwarf could hear nothing but the beat of rain on rock. And thunder. "First age."

Bofur nodded, but he didn't really understand.

"It surrounds us." Elyone said gently, as his words explained everything.

Kili finished buttoning up his shirt and pulled on his heavier leathers and tunic. He began looking around for his boots.

"It certainly does." Fili said, his voice low, and sounding a little bitter. Bofur and Kili both shot the blond odd looks, the older dwarf with speculation.

"Brother?" Kili asked, only to stop as his sibling gave him an almost angry look. "Fili?"

The blond shook his head, shrugging one shoulder in a weak and silent apology. "I'm going outside to check the perimeter. I don't trust in ancient elven spell work."

If the elves were offended, it didn't show but for a tightening around the eyes.

Fili pushed his gear over, yanking on his thick outer coat and fur, throwing the hood up over his face.

"Not alone." Kili's voice sounded resolute, and with the beginnings of his own not inconsiderable temper.

"Lung injury." Bofur slid the words into the tense situation. "Lass, perhaps you could accompany Fili?"

This time Tauriel's face did show a hint of her suprise, her green eyes moving to stare widely at the elder dwarf. Yet she firmed her jaw and nodded.

Kili shook his head, "No."

Bofur held up one hand to the youngest of the dwarves present, then pulled in all his fingers but the first one in a 'hold' command.

Kili's jaw tightened so much his teeth could be heard grinding.

"Don't care." Fili walked past them all, uncaring who came with him out into the miserable weather. The moment he left the cave, water soaked through just about every protective layer he had. A shiver ran through him, only serving to send his temper soaring even higher.

A moment or two later, a tall she-elf stood beside him, her own hood covering her features. Lightning lit the area, showing glimpses of pale creamy skin along her jawline. She was not smiling. Well fine, neither was he.

She said something, but it was lost in the pounding rain that beat upon the rocks and ground around them. All he could see was the dim outline of her mouth moving.

Fili stared at her for a long moment. This wasn't her fault, not entirely. He knew he wasn't being fair. But right now the pain was far too much. The blonde turned his back on her and walked away.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili watched the two people he loved most in life disappear into the pouring rainfall. He growled, cursed under his breath and grabbed his boots. He was going out there with them.

The whistling sound was his only warning before Bofur's long blade sunk itself into the loose rock and dirt of the cavern floor. Right between his feet. The same feet he had not yet pulled his boots on over. His toes nearly tingled at the close call. Kili raised his dark eyes to stare over at the still reclining dwarf. "You have something to say?"

"Stay out of it." Bofur said sadly. "They have to work it out between them."

Kili straightened, staring. "They argued? When?"

Elyone looked back and forth between the two dwarves using only his eyes, his head not moving at all. Staying quite still, he watched.

"Lad, they both have to find a balance since they have something they both love in common." Bofur told him as gently as he could.

Kili's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I didn't hear any arguing."

"It wasn't out loud." Bofur pursed his lips, trying to find the right words. "Your brother, he's looked out for you his whole life. It's hard to let that go."

"But I haven't gone anywhere." Kili sounded lost.

Elyone shifted slightly, then nodded. "Wise words." He said, obviously speaking to Bofur and not Kili.

The younger dwarf scowled. "I don't need looking after." His voice hardened. "By either one of them."

Bofur chuckled and puffed resolutely on his pipe. "Oh lad. Yer mother would gladly box your'n ears for that tall tale."

Even the elves seemed a bit amused and smiled slightly, sending Kili's temper soaring. "I am not a child! I can take care of myself."

"Aye." Bofur agreed readily, letting Kili's temper simmer down a notch. "But you're loved. Deeply. At first I wasn't sure about the pretty lass, but her actions have proved my worries groundless."

"She hasn't used that word." Kili muttered. They'd played around it, calling each other endearments. But an 'I love you' hadn't come from either one of them.

Bofur didn't say anything, letting the moment lapse.

Elyone let the silence between the two dwarves lengthen a moment as they both thought about what was going on outside. Finally he looked over at Kili. He studied the young dwarf, as if trying to come to a decision. Finally he broke the silence. "Do you know anything about our mating rituals?"

Kili grumped and made a face and finally shrugged. "Blue and silver gift. Handfasting. Ten years acting like we're married but we can walk away, unless we have a child." He waved one hand in the air in a circle. "Yeah, that's about it."

"It's as formal as marriage." Elyone said gently. "For us. We take this very seriously."

Feeling cornered and defensive, Kili crossed his arms. "I'm taking it seriously." He protested with a bit of a bite to his voice.

"Elves take one spouse. In a lifetime."

Bofur sat up taller at this announcement, looking slightly startled. "But ...you'n live ...well ..." He scratched at his beard. "The word immortal comes to mind."

Elyone nodded slowly, his serious eyes finding Kili's gaze and pinning him with a hard stare. "Unless killed by a mortal wound, we do not die. We can fade away, but not age as you know it."

Sudden nausea pierced Kili like an arrow through the heart. Tauriel had chosen him, and he was NOT immortal. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "But ..."

"Marriage outside our race is not common, but also not completely unheard of." The dark-haired elf continued smoothly. "But it is not something that an elf, even a Silvan elf, would choose without great thought or consideration."

The other elves with Elyone nodded slowly in agreement.

"She will choose no other in this life." The leader of the Grey Haven's delegation sighed slightly. "You are her choice. The other dwarf is your brother."

Kili sank down to sit on the cave floor. His world was spinning.

Bofur pointed the long stem of his pipe at the younger dwarf. "They have to find a balance. Agree to share you, because neither will be able to give you up."

The dark-haired dwarf grinned suddenly, breaking the solemnity of the moment. "I love them both, but not the same way obviously."

Laughing, Bofur nodded. "Yea'n. But it's not you having a problem finding a balance. It's between them."

Kili's grin faded. He thought about his brother and how it had always been the two of them, against the world. And he thought about Tauriel, and how she made him feel. Like the world didn't matter, as long as she could love him. He swallowed hard.

"It'll be alright lad." Bofur's confident words didn't match the worry in the older dwarf's eyes.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili looked around, trying to wipe away the rain from his eyes. But that was impossible, for it was falling from the sky too hard to be affected by a mere hand.

Walking the perimeter was not an option. He'd be lost within moments if he tried. He looked around for Tauriel, to signal that they should both go back inside, but he didn't see her.

An instant of panic, followed by a systematic search with his eyes as he turned in a slow circle. She couldn't have gone far.

Before he could complete the circle, a pale hand shot out and grabbed the back of his soaked and sodden collar. She yanked and he fell backwards into the protected crevice in the rocks.

Fili found himself face to face with a rock wall. He sneered and turned, finding the space tight. He was wedged agains the rocks and ...her. He came face to ...middle. His eyes had to rise to see the underside of her bosom, even covered as it were. It nearly hurt his neck to look up into her expressionless features.

At least the overhang allowed him to see, keeping the rain off their faces.

"This is inappropriate." Fili snarked, placing his hands on the rock wall behind her. He didn't have to lean into her personal space, there was no personal space to speak of.

"No, it's not." Tauriel said quietly, with Fili having to strain to hear her voice over the sound of wind, rain and even thunder.

The blond smiled confidently up at her. "Maybe you chose the wrong brother."

"Doubtful." Tauriel's voice was short, but not angry. Not yet. "But I did choose."

"Not too late to change your mind." Snarled Fili.

The she-elf shook her head. "Yes it is. Besides. I married him."

"Handfasted." Fili countered quickly.

Tauriel shrugged. "I will be with child soon enough."

"You don't know that." Snapped a very irritated dwarf.

The elven lass blinked down at him, moving her back around until she had enough room to sink into a modified squat. Resting her back against the crevice wall, she wasn't uncomfortable, though her legs would tire eventually. Still, it kept Fili from having to strain his neck so much in order to meet her gaze.

"Don't do me any favors." The dwarf snarled at her.

"I didn't." She paused and gave him a long, considering look. "Was I supposed to ask your permission to marry your brother?"

Stunned, Fili shook his head. "Handfasted." He protested again, but much weaker this time. She watched him, waiting him out. He thought about making her wait forever, but his own patience wore out quickly. "No. You didn't need my permission."

"What changed?" She asked in an almost gentle manner.

Fili winced, knowing that she knew that he'd not been angry until last night. And this morning.

"I ...I didn't think you would. I mean, I knew you'd come with us. But I don't think I knew what that would really mean." Fili pressed on, ignoring the fury of the storm surrounding them. "You sleep with him."

Tauriel nodded slowly, surprised at the protest. "You knew we'd come together. You even talked to your mother about this subject." And had supported the couple.

Fili groaned and rolled his eyes. "Yes. Yes. I did. And then you went and slept with him."

Catching the nuance, slight though it was, Tauriel paused. "You don't mean that as a euphamism for sexual contact."

Fili shook his head, feeling like a fool. "Slept. Just to be near him. Holding on to him."

Tauriel stared, connections weaving in her fertile and not dense mind. "How long have you looked out for Kili?"

The blond's jaw jutted slightly as he tensed. After a moment he forced himself to relax and shrug. "Seventy two years."

The she-elf stilled. "That's the entirety of his age."

Fili nodded achingly slowly. "I raised him, basically."

"Dis?"

The blond dwarf sighed. "Yeah, I mean yes. Yes, she loved him and held him too fast because our da died right after Kili was born. But she was grieving, and grieving hard."

"A lot of things fell to you." Tauriel's voice held a wealth of understanding, but all Fili heard was pity.

"Damn you!" His temper exploded as he pounded a fist painfully into the rocks beside her.

The elf stared at him, driving him crazy by appearing to become calmer instead of angry. "I hate you." Damn, he sounded petulant to his own ears. "Or not." He whispered.

"You lost your throne, your treasure, your mother, your friends, and your uncle." She said, watching his gaze drop away. "Now you feel like you're losing the one thing that's been constant to you your entire life. Kili."

"I have lost him."

Tauriel shook her head. "No."

Fili looked up at her, misery in his eyes. "It didn't really hit me until last night. But he's yours now."

She gave him a long look, then her lips tilted up very slightly. "Did you think that maybe you didn't lose a brother, you gained a sister?"

Fili groaned. "Don't pity me."

"I don't." She said truthfully. "I know nothing of where we are going. I know nothing of dwarven ways. I ...am unsure."

The blond stared at her for a long moment, trying to judge the validity of her words. "You can take care of yourself." He said slowly, carefully.

The she-elf nodded, not denying the charge. "But I will make mistakes, possibly grave one. And I don't want to. I have never been away from the Mirkwood."

His eyes widened at that admission as he calmed down. Not that his feelings of loss abated, but that at least his temper had vented. "We're all three starting new lives." He said, almost in wonder.

She nodded in agreement.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili felt himself grabbed the moment he was back inside the cave, dragged to the other side by an upset Kili. Well, that was right and just he supposed. "Look, I'm sorry about ..."

"I need your help." Kili looked at his big brother with need, despite actually being the taller of the two.

That was the moment that Fili's temper completely slid away. Yes, things were different. But his younger brother still needed him.

"How do I court Tauriel?"

Those whispered words made him stop cold, surprise on his face. He shot a glance over at the she-elf in question, finding that she was busy wringing water from her over-long hair. He looked back at Kili and shrugged. "You've already got her. Trust me on that." He added dryly.

Kili watched mournfully as his older brother sat and pulled off his boots, turning them upside down to drain the excess moisture gathered there. "No. Really."

Fili rolled his expressive eyes as he unfastened his sodden clothing, getting it ready to hang up in order to dry off. "Really. She proposed, you accepted. Married or handfasted, she's yours."

Kili drew up to his full height, looking nervous. "Elf traditions. Not dwarf."

Stilling, the older brother took in the words with serious regard. He nodded, understanding took over. "You want to marry her our way?"

"Only fair." Mumbled Kili. "I didn't really know what was going on with the whole gift thing. Wouldn't change it, mind you. But ...did you know elves only marry once. Each. Ever."

Fili shrugged, then froze as the implications bored deep into his head. He shot an incredulous glance over at Tauriel, finally understanding some more of what she'd tried to tell him tonight. "Dwarves can divorce. Rare, but we can."

"They don't. They fade for broken hearts and stuff like that." Kili sounded worried.

"Her heart ain't broken." Fili reassured him. "And you've already won her. She's wearing your hair clasp, brother."

Kili bit his lower lip, unsure. "I didn't craft it. I haven't courted her."

Fili stared at Kili and for the first time that day, he took a deep breath clean from worry or pain. What Tauriel had told him was true. He'd not lost his brother. Yes, things would be different. But he wasn't lost. He shot a glance over at the red-head in question. And maybe he really had gained something new.


	13. Going Courting

Kili looked over at the elves settling in for the night. His dark eyes missed nothing as he watched them, then turned his attention over to Bofur and Fili as they too got ready to go to sleep. He absently pulled his hair back, away from his face.

"Problem?" Tauriel watched him, as he watched the others.

Kili frowned and shook his head, denying anything was wrong.

The red-headed she-elf followed his gaze over to the others, but saw nothing wrong.

The dark-eyed dwarf sighed and pulled open his sleeping blankets, bending over to crawl beneath them. As he did so, a ripping sound became apparent. Kili stilled, a flush on his cheeks. "Sorry." He mumbled.

Tauriel paused and nodded. Bound to happen as Kili's healing digestive track started working more, now that she was giving him a bit more substance in his meals such as the fish today. "Did you like dinner?" She probed.

Kili nodded absently and slid inside his sleeping blankets, squirming his back as he settled into a more comfortable position. He smiled engagingly up at Tauriel, reaching up his hand for her to join him. "Fish stew? Mushy, but tasty." He admitted, smacking his lips lightly, even as he frowned.

Tauriel knelt next to him, raising the edge of her own blanket. She stopped as she caught the frown. His eyes were once again on the elven visitors who were sharing the cavern with them. She hesitated, "did they say something?" They were High Elves, she was not but Silvan. The higher castes, well, some of them looked down upon the Silvan elves. Way down. And more than a few looked even lower upon the dwarves. She'd thought better of Elyone and his escort, but perhaps ... "Did they ..." She didn't know how to ask.

Kili made a face, but didn't look like he was suffering from hurt feelings. "They're still here."

A bit startled, Tauriel looked over at Elyone as he chatted with the other elves.

"It stopped raining this afternoon."

Ah. Tauriel's face relaxed into a smile as she moved to slide in next to her dwarven lover. She was starting to understand. "Late this afternoon, maybe two hours before sunset. And the ground is but mud. Would you have them traverse the Mirkwood in those conditions, at night?" She sounded amused.

Kili made a face, but didn't disagree with her assesment. Instead he patted his chest and wrapped his other arm around her as she settled in close to him. "We still wouldn't have been alone." She pointed out gently. "Ohta namba nauko ontane."

His sudden grin nearly melted her heart, then an odd look passed over his face followed another rude sound. Dark eyes closed as he winced. "Sorry."

Tauriel snorted lightly, then stiffened. Her nose wrinkled. Kili looked abashed. "Medics said this would happen." He said in apology.

"Did you eat anything other than the fish stew I made for you?" Tauriel sighed, as his grin grew, but he didn't answer that particular question.

"Passing gas means that my body is working right." He winked at her, then made another face. The sound wasn't as loud this time, but Tauriel's eyes widened in distress as her nose wrinkled.

"My sense of smell is uninjured as well." She slid away from him.

Kili protested wordlessly as she gathered her blankets.

Tauriel leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to his lips. He leaned up toward her eagerly. She pulled away and he shook his head. "Don't go." He whispered hoarsely.

The she-elf hesitated, then his body betrayed him yet again. She pursed her lips closed and backed away. "What did you eat?" She said, trying not to breathe through her nose.

Kili shrugged. "Nothing." All of a sudden he caught a whiff of himself and coughed. "Nothing much." He amended.

Tauriel sighed and pressed a hand to the side of his face tenderly. "You hold my heart."

"I'd like to hold you." He gave one last, hopeful protest.

The red head smoothed his hair behind his ear tenderly. "My love, I like breathing."

He chuckled, right up until she actually rose and walked away from him. "Evil female." He muttered.

She turned and glared at him, the long fall of her hair loose and framing her supple form in the low light from the banked fire. His breath caught as he

"My love?" He amended his words quickly. "She who completes my heart. The music of the stars. The reason my soul sings."

Caught, Tauriel's full lips parted as her green eyes traced the lines of his face. "Goodnight my love." Her voice danced delicately over his skin, producing shivers down his body.

He peered at her, his gaze hot and needy.

"Don't do it, gal." Bofur's voice sounded amused. "We'un can smell him from over here."

Startled, Tauriel spun to look at the two other dwarves. Bofur ran a finger down his mustache and then pinched his nose. Fili waved his own calloused hand in front of his face, even as he grimaced.

Kili began cursing under his breath, flopping down onto his back and crossing his arms.

"He pouts." Fili teased and pointed to a space between he and Bofur.

She looked over at the elven delegation, who were watching without comment. Tauriel didn't even have to think about it as she dropped her blankets where her love's brother had indicated.

Fili's eyebrows shot up, a bit surprised that she'd chosen the two of them over the other elves. She didn't bother to explain she felt more at home with the foreign race, over the company of the High Elves.

"No offense, Fili." Bofur chuckled happily. "But she's a damn sight prettier to look at than you are."

"Which of you two let him eat something he shouldn't?" Tauriel asked, spreading out her blankets on the cavern floor.

Fili gave a deep, rumbling laugh. "Who said he had help? My brother has a habit of getting into spots all on his own. I mean, he did go and get married without any help from us."

Tauriel gave a small smile, nodding to show she accepted the blame for that. "So. It was you then."

Bofur laughed rowdily and pointed at the blond dwarf, who waved off the accusation. But denied nothing. Instead, he turned on the dimples that even his beard couldn't hide. "My brother wants to court you."

From across the cavern, Kili gave a loud protest of shock.

Fili shrugged, all sign of his earlier temper having vanished as if it didn't exist. Bemused, Tauriel stared at him. "I thought you were angry at me?"

"Quick to anger, quick to forgive." Bofur sang in a deep voice.

"Unless we're really mad." Fili countered. "No one holds a grudge like a dwarf."

"Loves more." Bofur added.

"Feels more." Fili continued, unabated.

"Lives more!" Kili yelled from off to the sides, still wrapped in his sleeping blankets. A loud noise interrupted them all from over where Kili was laying all by himself.

"Eats more." Tauriel sighed as they all laughed together. She let her laughter fade, watching the easy comradery between the dwarven males. "Courting? We're handfasted. I wear his gift."

Bofur sighed happily, snuggling down into his blankets. "Aye, and it looks grand on ye, lass." He yawned and relaxed, blinking up at her. "But it's Elvish customs. Not'n our own."

Tauriel's mouth opened, but she said nothing as thoughts raced around and around in her mind. Finally she looked back and forth between both Bofur and Fili. "What are the Dwarven customs?"

Bofur yawned again, this time the move was faked. His eyes closed tightly, too tightly for natural sleep. She turned toward Fili, who shrugged. "I've never done it."

"You were engaged!" Tauriel protested sharply.

Fili grinned, settling back with a grin. "Not anymore. So I'm no expert."

"You're still a dwarf!"

Fili shook his head, trying to look as innocent as possible. "We are walking away from a throne, from the mountains, and even from treasure. Doesn't sound like dwarves to me."

"True, lass."

"Silence." Tauriel hissed at Bofur. "You're asleep."

"Oh, right." The mustached older dwarf thanked her and closed his eyes again. "Go on then."

Fili yawned heavily and rolled over, giving her his back. A back that was shaking suspiciously, as if he were trying hard not to laugh.

Tauriel sighed and jerked her blankets around with a small sneer, getting ready to sleep. "Mad. I must be mad."

"Yer a dwarrowdam. Sorta." Bofur spoke from the corner of his mouth, his eyes still closed. "Without actually being dwarrow, of course'n."

"No beard." Fili's voice sounded almost strangled.

"Far too thin."

"Strong though." The blond interjected, still not looking at them.

"Oh aye, strong. But no beard." Bofur ended with a sad note.

Tauriel looked back and forth between the two and smiled. "I can shave you both without waking you." She threatened.

Both males started snoring. Loudly. She didn't call them on their pretense as she rolled her green eyes. The red-head settled into her blankets with a small sigh, staring up at the stone above her. Courting her? Just what would that entail? Sleep, she assumed, would be a long time coming.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

A certain she-elf woke in a grumpy mood, feeling like there was grit in her eyes. Blearily, she looked around. Wonderful, she was the last one to wake. Not normal for her. But then, she'd laid awake most of the night.

Her thoughts had raced, but she also kept listening out for Kili. She couldn't help it. It seemed she couldn't sleep unless she was sure he was alright. The red-head had lain awake most of the night, ready to go to him if he started groaning or thrashing. But though his digestive system had filled the air with pungent odors, Kili had not seemed to be in distress beyond mere discomfort.

Meaning, he was healing. The gut wound was closed. No infection. And finally, his body was starting to process foods in the proper way. Passing gas, though smelly, was a good sign. An extremely good sign.

Despite her weariness, Tauriel was smiling when she sat up.

"Finally awake?" Kili looked far too chipper this morning, in her opinion.

"How are you feeling?" She asked pointedly, as he approached her with a steaming mug.

Kili nodded, ducking his head slightly as he gave her an appealing look. "Better." He handed her the thick mug. "Thought you might like some tea."

Tauriel smiled thankfully, taking the hot mug gratefully with both her hands. She sniffed, then stilled. "Tea?" She questioned.

Kili grinned widely. "Good dwarvish black tea. It's great!"

Unsure, the she-elf blew a breath over the steaming mug. Behind Kili she saw a flailing arm. Her green eyes narrowed as she watched Bofur try and get her attention. He pointed at the mug almost frantically, nodding, and then pretended to drink it down.

Tauriel looked back up at Kili's handsome face, then back at Bofur. Only now Fili was mouthing something at her, and now he was pointing at the mug and nodding in an over exaggerated manner. All of a sudden she realized he was trying to mouth the word 'courting'.

Oh. The pretty elf smiled happily and took a big sip, nearly choking on the strong taste. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to smile up at Kili.

The dark-eyed dwarf smiled back, beaming at her. "You like it?"

"Love it." Her voice sounded hoarse and she cleared her throat. The tea was strong enough to strip varnish from wood. She took another sip, smaller this time. Wondering how she was going to handle drinking the whole thing. Then she looked up at Kili, and he looked so pleased that she was enjoying his offering. "So. This is part of courting?"

Kili looked surprised. "Uhm, no. It's part of breakfast. Are you sure you don't want any sweetener? Fili can't drink that without at least three spoonfulls."

Green eyes flew open wide as she leaned around her beloved to stare at Fili who was currently clutching his belly, rolling on the cavern floor lost in a spasm of laughter.

"Tauriel?" Kili caught the mug she thrust at him, hissing as the hot liquid spilled over his hands. He turned and watched his personal she-elf kick his only brother hard on the buttocks. "Uhm?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Elyone wiped his fingers delicately on a napkin, enjoying the morning fare. Though he looked a bit confused. "Do dwarves normally wrestle like that with breakfasts?"

Bofur grinned around this swollen upper lip. "Not just breakfasts." He burped happily. "Any meal will do."

"Meal? Doesn't need to be a meal." Fili nodded happily, standing as he finished his own breakfast. Possibly because his hind end was sore from all the kicking. "But meals do make it more fun."

Elyone and the other elves appeared lost. So Bofur shrugged. "More ammunition." He raised his toast with a grin.

"You throw food?" The High Elf looked like he was hoping they were telling a joke. Right up until Bofur tossed the piece of toast right at Kili's head.

Tauriel's hand shot up and caught the piece of bread and handed it to Kili. The dark-eyed dwarf grinned. "Really?"

She nodded and he took a huge bite of the travel loaf, uncaring that it was a bit on the stale side. "Just remember, if you over eat ...you'll be sleeping alone."

Mouth open to take another bite, Kili slowed and turned his heated gaze up at her. He judged her seriousness, and this time took a much smaller bite and started chewing more diligently.

Tauriel looked up, to find the other elves watching her speculatively. She refused to be embarrassed. She deliberately widened her smile and the other elves looked at each other, and then away. High Elves. Pff. She looked back at Kili as he grinned and tore off a chunk of bread, handing it to her.

To the High Elves, this might seem rough. Bread torn, not cut. No plate or napkin. Bread taken from a loaf that someone else had already bitten into. Tauriel paused, then deliberately accepted the piece of bread and took a bite. Kili grinned up at her, clearly besotted. Her heart about sang.

"Dang, boy." Bofur sighed lustily, grinning ear to ear. "Now that's a sight to make an old dwarf happy."

"Yes, well ..." Elyone didn't seem to know what conversational gambit to take. "I trust you are recovering from your wounds?"

Kili patted his belly and nodded. "Breathing without pain now, too." He burped, spraying bread crumbs a bit. "Mostly."

Surprised, Elyone looked over at Tauriel. She shrugged. "Lung pierced as well as gutted."

"My leg was sliced pretty badly." Fili mentioned almost absently. "I'm healing too."

The High Elf nodded slowly at Kili. "You are blessed to be living."

"More than you know." Kili nodded at Tauriel. "She'd already saved me once from a poisoned arrow."

"Had an infection." Fili sighed. "Learned to fly."

Bofur chuckled and threw the blond an apple. Fili laughed and bit into the juicy flesh with gusto, his good humor restored.

Elyone looked saddened. "You seem to get injured a lot."

Pity was the last thing Kili wanted. But Tauriel stuffed her bread into his mouth, knowing he was going to explain about being part of the delegation who'd gone to face down a terrible dragon. "Orcs." She smoothed over the moment. "Morgul-arrow."

The High Elves stiffened in sudden attention and focus.

Bofur nodded. "Aye. Lad used to go on adventures, 'til he took that arrow to the knee."

"Thigh." Grumped Kili, trying to choke down some water to clear his throat. "Knee is fine."

"My knee is still healing." Fili said, then stopped when all eyes turned to him. "I was just saying. Orcs too."

"Morgul-blades?" The elves inquired, looking stunned.

Fili shook his head with a wondering look. "No. Normal blades I think. But then again, they slice you up pretty good."

Elyone pushed himself up to standing. "Well, that settles it. Morgul-arrow? Yes. We can not wait for the ground to dry. The weather is clear enough. We must push on. We have things to discuss with King Thranduil."

Tauriel stiffened, her green eyes speculative and slightly alarmed.

The other elves nodded as their leader continued. "Orcs, goblins and trolls as well as other foul and fell beasts are becoming too numerous to ignore. Something has changed. Some of our far-seers are reading signs that they do not like."

"We too need to be moving." Tauriel stood as well.

Kili and Fili looked at each other, the earlier good mood of the group dissipating.

"Young dwarf. Handfasted love of Tauriel. You are very fortunate to be living." Elyone bowed low, backing away to head over to the delegation's travel packs.

"Handfasted love of Tauriel?" Bofur said slowly. "So'un, we would call you the handfasted love of Kili?"

The red-head nodded absently, as she looked around the cavern. "That would be the proper way to speak it." She scanned the area. "How swiftly can we be away?"

"What's the hurry all of a sudden?" Fili asked quietly.

Tauriel shook her head. "Bad feeling." She didn't mention that the nervousness of the High Elves was making her skin crawl. What signs had their far-seers noted?

Bofur shrugged, standing. "You'n have a bad feeling?" He looked intently at the red-headed elf who had married one of their own. Giving up everything in her life to follow him. "Good enough for me. Let's be moving."

"Where?" Fili grumped. They still didn't have a destination in mind.

Kili shrugged. "The high pass?" He didn't even know why he suggested it, other than it was the safer way through the mountains. And heading away from the Mirkwood ...not to mention the Lonely Mountain, and King Dain.

Tauriel considered that option, nodding slowly. It would take them near Rivendell. But it was also in the Misty Mountains. Dwarves liked mountains, she was pretty sure.

"Well then, lads and lassie. Let's be getting ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go ahead and groan. The Skyrim reference was intentional, and fun.


	14. Translation

"Handfasted love of Kili." His voice teased her, tickling her senses as she smiled. She didn't look up from where she was gathering her pack, rebalancing the items within for ease of movement.

"Yes, handfasted love of Tauriel?" Only it wasn't her voice who answered, rather than Fili's in a comically high falsetto and mocking tone.

Kili made a face at his older brother and when he saw that his red-headed she-elf wasn't looking, added a rude hand gesture.

Fili laughed, slinging his pack around his broad shoulders with ease. His head thrown back in true mirth.

Bofur pushed his way between the two brothers, heading for the cave entrance. "The other'n elves have left. It'd be our'n turn now."

"We dwarves will lead, since the elf seems to be lagging behind." Fili teased as he turned, walking out the cavern which had shielded them so well from the recent storms.

"The elf?" Tauriel's voice echoed in the nearly empty cave. "Had to undo the protection spells. It would have been unwise to leave them." Yet she'd also had to prepare the spells in case this place was in need by elven travellers again.

Fili's laughter faded as he moved outside. The dark-haired brother, the one she'd fallen for, reached out and since she was bent over he was able to run his hand down her back from the nape of her neck on down. She straightened when his palm tightened possessively on her bottom.

Turning, Tauriel stared at Kili, whose grin only widened under her scrutiny. She did take note that they were alone. He winked at her, his mouth twitched with humor and also something far more sensusal. "Love to make them wait."

Her green eyes sparked and she blew out a long breath. "I could seal the cave from them, keep them out. Re-set the spells." She offered, knowing that they would be doing no such thing.

Kili's grin disappeared as his mouth dropped open, heat suddenly burning from his dark-eyes. His breathing hitched and one hand went to his heart. "Oh love, if only we could."

Tenderly, and with a great deal of regret, Tauriel leaned down and placed a sweet kiss to the side of his mouth. Or that was her intent.

Kili moved quickly, marginally sliding his head in order to capture her kiss with his own lips. His hand caught the back of her head, burying his large blunt fingers in the silky soft hair. She gasped at the intensity of his need, and the dwarf took immediate advantage. Moaning, she could feel his tongue invading her mouth. How? How could he make her feel like this?

He was so far from what she'd dreamed of finding in a mate. Yes, there was intelligence and bravery. But instead of solemn studiousness, there was a quick wit that continually caught her off-guard. His laugh drew her out of her own quietness, and he appreciated her own sense of humor unlike many she'd grown up with.

A loud moan interrupted her musings, and unfortunately it came from neither of them.

"Oh for ... we'un have to be going!" Bofur's voice sounded peeved and amused at the same time. He'd obviously come back into the cavern to see just what was holding them up.

Tauriel pulled back with great reluctance, her own breathing quite rapid as she looked up. A quick smile flirted with her now swollen lips as she saw that the older dwarf had his hand over his eyes.

The red-head pulled on the straps of her pack and walked toward the front of the cave. She stopped next to Bofur and smiled. "You can look now."

"Well'n." The mustached dwarf smiled and dropped his hand, rocking back and forth slightly on his feet. He gave her a bit of a salute as she joined Fili outside. "Coming laddie?"

"No." Grumped Kili. "Unfortunately, no."

Bofur stopped mid-turn and started to ask, then stilled. His eyes bugged slightly and he blushed. "Now laddie, not the time nor'n the place."

Kili grimaced heavily and nodded, even as he agreed. "I know, I know." But ...but in a very short time he'd fallen in love, nearly died twice, gotten handfasted, and had only been able to lay with her but for one night. It wasn't nearly enough. "We need to get to where ever we are going, fast."

Bofur heard the younger dwarf's muttering and nodded, though not for the same reasons.

Kili reached down and readjusted himself and sighed, shouldering his own heavy pack.

Outside, Tauriel didn't bother looking at her love's brother. She headed right for the ponies, grimacing at the mucky feeling of the over-wet ground. "Muddy."

The she-elf repacked her bags, hanging them so they hung evenly on the back of her pony. Her hands moved on automatic, her mind racing. This. This place was farther from her home than she'd ever been in ...600 years. Her fingers stalled and she took a deep breath.

She should feel more sorrow, shouldn't she? And while she loved her home, and the Mirkwood, dangerous as it could be ...as she looked over the horizon, all she could think about was all the things she had yet to see.

And a big part of that was currently cursing somewhere behind her. How she could tell it was his deep rumble, she couldn't say. But she just knew. Kili. Love of Tauriel. How had that happened?

She smiled tenderly as she recalled how his eyes had drawn her from the very first. How he'd teased her, and drawn her despite herself. Her smile faded as she thought about how close she'd come to losing him. Twice.

Yes, she was starting an adventure. Going places, seeing things, but without him ...without Kili ...it would be nothing. On that thought, her smile returned and she turned to look at him. Abruptly she began to laugh.

Kili glared up at his love as he heard her amusement.

Tauriel's laughter eased into a broad smile as she watched all three dwarves slog through the muddy quagmire. Kili wasn't the only one cursing as they muscled their way through.

Fili's face reddened alarmingly as his right leg sank down into a dip in the uneven ground, the mud now seeping in over his heavy boot. With his still healing left leg, he was straining hard to keep his balance and pull his leg free.

"Not fair when you can walk lightly over this mess." Kili yelled at her as his arms windmilled a moment before he caught his own balance.

Tauriel shrugged, not apologizing for her race. "Need help?"

"NO!" Three affronted male voices rose up immediately.

Fili managed to pull his right leg free, only to curse even louder as he realized his boot hadn't come loose with his foot. It was still buried under the mud.

Kili began laughing outrageously at his older brother's plight, only to stop as his mouth was suddenly full of mud. His face stinging, he coughed and sputtered as he spit out the mess, running one hand over his face to wipe off the mud.

Glaring, he stared at Fili who was grinning outrageously and with his hand covered in muck and mud.

Bofur sighed and shook his head, his expression showing he was fighting off a large smile. "Now laddies, we'un don't have the time ...oh dear." His eyes widened as Kili nailed his older brother with a throw of his own.

Standing on one leg as he was, Fili fell backwards into the mud at the strike. His arms flailed as landed with a loud shout of protest.

"Oh dear." Tauriel's eyes sought Bofur, who shrugged at her only a second before a wild pitch of slung mud struck him on the side of his face.

And then, it was on.

The mud was flying between the three male dwarves faster than her eyes could keep up. "Oh. Kili? Bofur? Stop! Fili! STOP!"

The fact that the she-elf yelled, finally penetrated through to the three dwarves. All of them stared at her in various stages of filth.

Tauriel blinked, a bit in shock. Bofur was splattered liberally with mud. Her beloved Kili's dark hair looked gray streaked and he had globs of mud still clinging to his face, a bit fell off as she watched. her green eyes turned to Fili and she shook her head. He was covered in mud, having been the one to fall into it. He was nearly unrecognizable except for the cheekiness of his grin.

"She looks too clean." Fili said easily, his eyes sparkling with mischievous fun.

Tauriel's eyes widened, but then she relaxed as Bofur and Kili both demurred. She watched as Fili dug out his missing boot and struggled to make his way through the thick muck over toward her and the ponies.

Both Kili and Bofur got there first, and as filthy as they were, they were both grinning like mad idiots. One thing that she was going to have to get used to, was the dwarven sense of humor.

She glanced at her love, and saw him completely ignoring his state of mess as he worked. Smiling. He was happy. Tauriel couldn't help the spread of a soft smile as she watched him work loading up his pony. All of her nerves settled as her eyes took him in.

Going off into the unknown was exciting. Starting a life with Kili, even more so.

"What's a little mud between brothers?" Fili's voice came from behind her and she turned.

The filthy and mud encrusted blond winked at her happily. "Or between brother and sister?"

That was her only warning before she was caught up in the biggest hug of her live. Tauriel's eyes widened in alarm as she realized he was rubbing his muddy self all over her clean travel gear. Exasperated, she pushed at him and he let her go with a deep, rumbling chuckle. "Your own fault. You're the one who decided to marry my baby brother."

Tauriel glared at him and looked down at herself. Imprint of muddy dwarf.

Kili's mobile mouth was trying hard to surpress his amusement as he handed her a clean cloth.

The she-elf looked down at the cloth and then at her clothes. It was woefully inadequate. She had gobs of muck and mud all over her.

Fili began to laugh outright, until he had to wince and suck in a hard breath as Kili's elbow found his ribs.

Tauriel sighed and looked at the two brothers as Bofur walked up beside her. "Ah, now lassie. It's just a bit of muddy fun. If ye are serious about having a life with ...Mmfph."

Fili and Kili both stopped and turned to stare, then to give great big raspy laughs as they pointed in uproarious fun at their dwarven companion.

Bofur spit out the mud that Tauriel had scooped up off her clothing and had stuffed in his face. He gave her a shocked look. "Lassie?"

"Just trying to fit in." She said with a bit of a smug smile.

Bofur watched her walk away in a bit of stunned disbelief. He turned to Kili and Fili and cocked his head a the departing she-elf. "We are sure'n she's an elf, right?"

Fili clapped his younger brother on the back of his filthy shoulder. "She must be blind, choosing you."

Tauriel looked at the blond dwarf and shook her head and said something in elvish.

Fili pointed at the taller female as he stared at his brother. "Are you going to let her get away with calling me that?" Clearly not knowing what she'd said.

Kili just grinned widely and hoped they picked a place to go really soon. He was about dying to be alone with her again.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Down the lengthy ways and roads  
to a Shire green for a hobbit bold  
we travel on to mountain paths  
to meet a dragon and retrieve our gold  
With sorrow in our heart of hearts  
we say goodbye to heroes who won't grow old"

Tauriel sighed, feeling the sorrow and longing in Kili's voice, knowing he was singing about his Uncle Thorin. Bofur and Fili seemed to hum along, but it was Kili's song.

"On our way we cross through forests  
dark and whispered where spiders creep  
rolling webs and trolls of stone  
Elvish prisons and cells dug so deep  
But lo in the darkness starlight dwells  
shining a light, piercing the heart who can only weep"

"Weep?" Tauriel scoffed lightly. "You were inviting me to search your pants. Weeping wasn't involved." Though she squirmed a bit, guessing that the starlight in his verse was meant to be her.

Bofur shot her a look and she took the hint, quieting down to let Kili finish his song.

"With hands of grace and jade green eyes  
Holding death back with strength standing tall  
There she shines with hair like a silken sheath  
Heart of stone meets her own and his will falls   
But that she could truly love him was beyond belief  
To her gift of blue and silver he cannot ignore her call"

This time when the verse trailed off, Tauriel couldn't speak. Silence flowed over the group as the last haunting sound of the rich baritones faded over the area. Only the sound of the ponies trodding along the less than dry ground could be heard.

Bofur cleared his throat. "Lassie?"

Tauriel's eyes were wide, and there was a lump in her throat. She didn't know how to respond. It thrilled her, but also was highly embarrassing, that he would sing of his feelings for her so openly in front of others.

Not that elves didn't do such things. But ...never to her.

Kili looked at her, obviously waiting for some kind of response. Even Fili was staying silent as he watched for her reaction.

"Bofur? How would a dwarrowdam respond?" She whispered, knowing they could all hear her just fine.

The older male dwarf nodded a moment, then shrugged. "She'd knock the lad on his arse for impertinence, accept him, or sing him a song back. No set response really. Just what you'rn feeling lass."

What she was feeling.

Tauriel swallowed the lump in her throat as her mind raced. She wasn't used to declaring her feelings. Nor was she used to having such feelings. Her green eyes found Kili's dark stare and she took a deep breath.

"You don't have to ..." Kili's words stalled as she interrupted him.

"Amin mela lle. Mela en' coiamin, amin lava a' lle." Her voice sounded a bit hoarse for an elf, yet full of emotion. Was it easier to tell him that she loved him knowing the words to be foreign to him? Yes. Perhaps not fair, but ...she caught sight of his expression. Kili stared at her a long moment, then his face melted into a sloppy grin.

Tauriel's heart rate sped up as her hands tightened on her reins.

Fili leaned toward his brother over the neck of his pony. "Did you understand what she said?"

Kili nodded even as he answered, "no." But he could see love radiating out from her eyes. He understood that just fine.

"I will teach you." She promised with dark heat, sending a shiver down Kili's spine.

"Amin mela lle. Mela en' coiamin, amin lava a' lle." Kili repeated under his breath. He caught Tauriel's surprised look and shrugged. "We dwarves have a good ear for such things."

The she-elf nodded, wondering what he would say in return. Once he figured out she'd said 'I love you. Love of my life, I yield to you."


	15. Battle Cry

"Something be wrong."

Startled, Tauriel was torn from her inner musings. She looked around, her green eyes sharp. The rolling hills looked like they had for the past several hours. Like they had yesterday. And the day before.

The mud had been left behind. As if there was an ineffable line where rain had fallen hard to soak the ground in one area, but had withheld the life-giving moisture from the other.

For one such as she, it was beyond strange. But though large, the Mirkwood and it's surrounds were all she really was familiar with. And yes, it was a big enough area that it could be raining in one corner, but not in the next. But to see it like this, in the wide open space in which they now travelled ...it was ...different.

"I see nothing." The red-headed elf said slowly, not disbelieving in Bofur's words, but questioningly.

"It'n be quiet." Bofur said, his voice a bit lower than usual.

Fili snorted. "My brother finally ran out of songs? Or he ran out of words to rhyme with 'green', 'love', and 'joy'?"

"Shut it." Kili sniffed, clearly insulted.

Tauriel looked around carefully, then frowned. "Is it not supposed to be quiet?"

Bofur shook his head. "I hear the wind, and it be right. The grass is beneath the hooves of our mounts, and that be right too."

"What isn't right?" Kili asked curiously, now on alert and looking around as closely as the others. His free hand rested on the hilt of his weapon, while the other tightened on his reins.

"Birds. Bugs. Wildlife." Tauriel guessed, her lips tightening as she realized she'd missed the clues. "Sudulthurkh."

Fili jerked in his saddle, spinning his head to stare with an open mouth at the pretty she-elf. Bofur choked and pushed his hat back on his head to the point where it about fell off, and he had to make a frantic grab to keep from losing it.

Kili dropped his head, staring down at his hands.

Bofur cleared his throat, his eyes a bit wide and shocked. "Lass?"

Tauriel shrugged, knowing she was treading on perilous ground. "Did I not say it right?"

Fili nodded slowly, even as his eyes cut over to glare at his younger brother. "What did you mean to say?"

"That this is a dangerous road." Tauriel saw no need to lie about it. She squared her shoulders and met the blond dwarf's gaze head on. "Kili and I are handfasted." She said, using it as her only explanation for using the dwarven language.

Fili sighed deeply. "Basically married. Yeah, yeah. But ... Khuzdul is ...secret. A language isolate."

Khuzdul. The secret language of the dwarves. One that did not vary with accents or locations, as did the tongues of men and elves. This language was not cradle-speech, or learned listening to their parents. It was carefully taught as a dwarf grew and aged, and with great reverence. And not taught to outsiders.

"Eol the Elf knew our language." Kili tried to defend himself.

Bofur sputtered and shook his head vigorously. "Not'n a good example lad, that story ended poorly!"

"But not because Eol knew Khuzdul!" Protested the younger dwarf. "It ended badly because, well that was elf stuff."

"Elf stuff?" Now Tauriel protested hearing her people's great tales of history so dismissed.

Fili began to laugh, watching the outrage on all three faces of his companions. "Oh Kili."

The younger of the two brothers grumped, then sighed. "I just taught her a few words. So she'd teach me what she said to me the other day."

"And has she?" Fili asked, now curious, and still unsure about how he felt about Tauriel learning Khuzdul.

Kili made a face and shrugged defensively. "Cormamin lindua ele lle." He said it slowly and with great care on pronunciation.

Bofur put his hat back on his head, firmly tamping it down. "And what'n does that mean, lad?"

Kili blushed. Fili laughed. Bofur just sighed. "Am I even old enough to hear what it means?" He teased, since he was older than both of the brothers. Kili mumbled something.

"Eh?" Fili prodded. "I didn't hear you."

Kili shot a look at Tauriel, finding her too smug for his sensabilities. "It means 'my heart sings to see thee'."

Tauriel smiled at him, while his older brother looked like he might fall off his pony for laughing.

Kili smiled calmly over at the she-elf. "She may think I don't get it. But 'cormamin'? Close to amin, and it's got to be connected to the word 'my'. And lle means 'you'. All I need now is to translate 'mela'. So ... Me, I, myself or my, something else, and then you ...meaning me."

Tauriel stopped smiling, a bit surprised that Kili was that quick to parse out the elven language.

Bofur coughed and decided to have a go. "Lass? What does 'mela' mean?"

She didn't have to answer, but she wasn't ashamed either. Still, it wasn't something to discuss with other than Kili. Not yet. "This road is still dangerous."

Fili's laughter faded slowly to a chuckle, until finally he was just grinning. "Oh Tauriel. That's not what the word means, no ...that just means you want to turn the subject."

"Bofur? Do you still feel that something is wrong?" The red-headed elf queried.

The elder dwarf male sighed and listened for a long moment, hearing naught but the wind and the ground crunching beneath their mount's hooves. "It'd be too quiet. And while I might'n have a lot more to say on a certain elf-lass learning our dwarven language." He shot a warning glance over at Kili, who managed to look utterly innocent. "I do feel that something is quite amiss."

Now each of them fell silent, all listening ...to nothing.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Sun's not too far from resting for the day." Bofur looked out over the horizon in every direction. "And I don't see a good place'n to rest for the night."

Fili nodded carefully. They'd spent the last hour listening to nothing at all, and yet they were no closer to knowing why they all seemed to feel as if something were seriously wrong. "The ponies won't last through the night if we keep going. They're knackered and need to rest and water."

Tauriel's lips thinned. She agreed with Fili's assessment, but all of her nerves were on high alert. Now that Bofur had called her attention to it, the unearthly silence was getting to her too.

Abruptly, a sound pierced the area. All four riders stilled, Kili going so far as to halt his pony. They listened. But the sound had been faint, and to far away. Another sound. But it was just as faint.

Fili's eyebrows knitted together as he concentrated. "Sounds like metal on metal."

"Or on stone." Bofur shook his head, not sure.

Tauriel was getting frustrated. Out of the woods, she was having a difficult time adjusting to all the open space around her. "I can't sense the direction!" A further sound had her whipping her head around to the northwest.

Kili too was looking in that direction, his face a study in concentration.

Bofur frowned. "Metal on metal could be industry." He offered the explanation hesitantly.

"Not rhythmic enough to be a blacksmith." Fili shook his head resolutely. "That's fighting."

"We're trying to avoid trouble." Kili said, though the eagerness in his eyes belied his words. It was obvious he wanted to go check out what was happening.

Another sound. Tauriel frowned. "That was a scream. But too far away to assist."

Bofur shook his head. "Naw, lassie. The hills play with sound. It could be a lot closer, depends on ..."

Fili kicked his pony toward the sound without asking anyone's opinion. Kili was right beside him, so that they almost moved as one unit.

Tauriel shot a glance at Bofur, who was grimacing. "Save me from young dwarves with something to prove." He caught her staring at him and he shrugged. "Typical. Injured, having to be carried off the battlefield? They won't feel right until they've fought, and won, another battle."

With that little kernal of information, Bofur kicked his own pony into gear and headed after the younger members of their party.

Tauriel watched the dwarves leave, and quickly followed, amazed at the change in her circumstances. Just a few weeks ago, as a Captain in her King's guard she would have had to turn away from investigating ...since it wasn't on their territory. Her orders would have precluded her from assisting.

Now. She rode with dwarves, who deliberately rode into the unknown in order to ...what? Test their still only partially healed strength against an enemy unknown? She'd gone from one extreme to the other.

All because a certain handsome dwarf couldn't keep his mouth shut about the Firemoon. She smiled and urged her own mount to catch up.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Orcs." The word was said in disgust. And whispered.

The sun was now setting, and the sight before them was a pitiful one.

A merchant caravan pinned against a natural rock formation, and yet surrounded. Orcs poked at their captives with their stolen weaponry, licking their lips and making obscene comments.

Fili's disgust was clear, his burning eyes on the guards for the caravan. Two were clearly dead and being butchered for an Orcish meal. Five were being paid off. It was clear they'd betrayed their employers for a bribe.

Tauriel's eyes expertly catalogued the area. Twelve innocents, including at least three adolesent humans. Five human guards, well armed. And at least eight Orcs.

The advesaries outnumbered the innocent merchants by only one. But that wasn't enough to make them evenly matched. The merchhants were clearly terrified and unprepared to defend themselves. Some were young, others too old.

"No wargs." Kili whispered.

"Down from the mountains, starving and displaced for being too weak." Tauriel whispered back. She'd seen such as these before. Some of the Orcs were injured or missing limbs. Not of use to their tribes, so kicked out to fend for themselves. "They've banded together to raid."

All of them considered the possibilities. They could still slip away unnoticed. This was a human merchant caravan after all.

"I hate Orcs." Fili said, his eyes feeling like they were burning. In his mind, all he could see was wave after wave of orcs, goblins and trolls coming after him. Coming after him and Kili and Thorin and ... "I hate Orcs."

Bofur shifted his weight slightly, getting ready to move if Fili attacked without warning. He recognized the intensity in the young blond dwarf. No one would be slipping away quietly, not this night. "Leave the ponies here, even swooping in we can't take up the merchants and ride away with them. Not with five ponies already carrying us and our gear."

Kili grinned, but it wasn't a happy look. It was grim and murderous, and he was ready for a bit of revenge. "With the humans, we outnumber them."

Tauriel shook her head very slightly. "No. None of those humans look like they can fight."

"Then it's a good thing each of us can take out three times our number of Orcs." Kili retorted stubbornly.

But you're still injured! Tauriel wanted to shout, but couldn't. Instead she bit her lip. She knew that she had much to learn about dwarves, and about Kili especially. But she already knew his pride. Pointing out that he was still hurt would only spur him forward. Instead she whispered something else entirely. "Mela, means love."

Amin mela lle. I love you. Kili's eyes widened and he gave her a heated look. "You tell me now?"

Tauriel gave him a private look of her own, heat in her own green eyed gaze. Her meaning was clear. If she didn't tell him now, and this attack failed. She might not get another chance.

Fili stood, outlined against the still present sun. He threw back his head and yelled "Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-menu!"

Down below them, the orcs froze from their celebrations, suddenly on alert. Two simply died on the spot. One near the hostages from a well placed arrow in the heart. Another by an arrow through the throat.

Bofur lent his throat to the battle cry of the Dwarves, following Fili into the melee as that one's first dagger found the chest of the human who'd just a moment before had been accepting his pay-off.


	16. Fight

Dispassionately, Tauriel yanked her sharp blade from the heart of the human male. An arc of blood flew out, following the path she cleaved through the air.

That had been her first human kill. In 600 years living in the Mirkwood, she'd seen them once or twice. Brought a party of them before her king. But today she was spilling human blood. It didn't bother her.

In her head she was already swinging to bury her second blade in an orc's chest. Only to have him fly backwards from the force of a thrown dagger piercing his forehead. She blinked, silently acknowledging Fili's strength, knowing the force it took to throw a weapon through skull like that.

Tauriel spun, ready for anything. Her eyes narrowed. Seeing no enemies, she turned and scanned the area with much care. In her head she counted the bodies. Five human traitors and seven orcs. There was one missing.

A horrid screech had her head turning sharply, only to see an orc who had been trying to crawl away in the tall grass, die. It's back was suddenly decorated with an arrow, pinning it to the ground. As she watched, Kili drew one more arrow for assurity, and shot the dying orc once more. This time in the head.

Her green eyes carefully catalogued everything about Kili. From the way he moved, to his breathing. He caught her look and flashed her a cocky grin. "Unhurt." He promised her.

She nodded, her blood still racing from the small skirmish. The orcs had been surprised and the dwarven fury could not be contained. Her bright eyes found Fili and she stilled. The blond dwarf looked like he was having a hard time pulling himself back from a killing fury.

Bofur too seemed to notice. He pulled his blade from the back of a dead human and sniffed the blood. "Doesn't stink like orc blood. I'd a thought that a traitor's blood should smell more like that of the creatures he was paid by."

Tauriel sent him a measuring look, but took her cue from the mustached dwarf. "I'm not sure if it is the orc blood that stinks, or they are so malodorous on their own that we can not smell their blood properly."

Fili growled, spinning around again, his grip white with pressure as he held his knives. "More."

Kili chuckled without humor, yanking arrows free from their targets. When one orc groaned, he frowned and stabbed the arrow back down into it's neck. The groaning stopped. "We've run out of orcs."

One of the merchants approached, an elderly human male with stained travel clothing. However poor the man looked, Tauriel could see that the stitching was fine and even and the cloth of good quality. Prosperous then. She watched the human studiously ignore the bodies of the fallen. "You have our thanks."

A large human female snarled and marched up, striking the merchant on the back of his balding head. "They have more than our thanks, you fool!" She hissed, giving the she-elf a bow and then turning and making the same gesture to each of the dwarves.

Tauriel gave a small half-nod.

"They may want paying." The first merchant protested, rubbing his head woefully.

"I am Mirrenda of Brookshire." The woman said to those that had rescued them. "And we can pay."

The male merchant looked at her with shock. "They may want more than we have! What if they're worse than ..." He waved his hands at the dead bodies.

Bofur's eyebrows rose. "Worse than orcs willing to eat'n you?" He sounded incredulous.

Fili gave a deep rumbling growl, making the humans shuffle their feet nervously.

Bofur shrugged helplessly. "Don't mind the laddie. He, well ...we hate orcs and wish we could have killed more."

A short cloaked figure that Tauriel had taken at first for a human adolescent, pointed south. "They sent scouts that way. They weren't happy to go and leave 'fresh meat'. But said they'd be back with their main group." The voice sounded too rich for a youth, she thought.

Fili's lips curled into an evil grin, his eyes sparking with violence in the offing. "Good." His voice rolled deep with dark promise.

"Not good'n." Bofur disagreed, looking around. "This place be too open. We don't know their numbers."

Kili nodded reluctantly, replacing his cleaned arrows back into his quiver as he inspected them for damage. "Not defensible here."

"We can win." Fili asserted, not wanting to give away a chance at even minor vengeance for himself ...for Thorin.

Tauriel looked over at the huddled humans. Older, out of shape merchants of both genders. Two teenage boys and a cloaked figure too small for an adult. She looked down at the work boots and pants, nodding. Dwarf most likely.

"Brookshire is close?" Bofur asked hopefully, not happy with the setting sun.

The humans shrugged. "Not far with horses, but the Orc scouts took ours back with them to their group. Ten miles or so." Mirrenda said apologetically, her face showing clearly that she wanted to be away from here before any could return.

"Bofur, you take them on. Kili and I will ..."

"I want to go too." The cloaked figure stated harshly. "They killed my master."

Tauriel glanced over at the bodies of the two dead guards.

Mirrenda shook her head, swallowing as she had to tell the distasteful. "The master baker was killed in the fight, they took his body ...for ... for ...well, this is ...was, his apprentice."

Bofur's lips twisted in a sneer. It didn't have to be said, the body had been taken as meat. Dinner.

Tauriel firmed her lips, knowing that her words would not be easy to swallow. "We have to get these people safe to their town, we can't leave them here on their own."

Fili snarled in denial. Kili looked unsure, watching his love and his brother both. The younger dwarf was obviously torn in his desires.

Bofur cleared his throat. "Laddie ..." He let his voice trail off.

The blond dwarf stamped his boot on the hard ground, his own feelings raging inside of him. It was very clear that he wasn't happy not chasing down the orcs and killing every last one of them.

"If you are lucky, they will come after us." Tauriel said gently. "Then you can kill all you want."

Fili sighed unhappily, but the awful tension holding him seemed to flow away as he stalked to his victims and retrieved his blades.

Bofur looked over at the she-elf and winked at her for saying just the right thing.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Brookshire has a wall?" Bofur asked, walking beside his pony, leading it on the pathway.

Mirrenda nodded and walked beside him, seemingly at ease with the height difference. "Grand walls." She grimaced a bit. "And I thought good guards." She was huffing a bit as she spoke, showing she wasn't used to this kind of pace. But then, it was dark and there were orcs out and about.

"Don't know why we had to leave our goods." A portly human with stooped shoulders muttered from somewhere behind them.

"Because we're in a hurry. Better to lose the goods than our lives." The baker's apprentice snapped back at the man, irritated. "Damn moon."

The human huffed, clearly affronted. "The moon shows us where we're going. I, for one, am grateful."

The hooded dwarf coughed in disbelief. "The moon shows our position to those who would kill and eat us."

Impressed, Bofur decided to try something. "Bahyuralh humundun." He said very quietly, slipping into Khuzdul in an almost whisper.

The cloaked figure's step hesitated a second, but then continued as if nothing were amiss. Finally, a small nod that showed the hint of a soft beard and young skin. Bofur smiled satisfied. A young dwarf apprentice-baker. Unlikely to be on his own at such an age. At least one dwarven family was in close proximity.

"Orcs have harried us from time to time along the trade routes, but it's been much worse lately. Nothing like today though, nothing like today." Mirrenda shuddered. "Poor Dorn, that was the master baker."

Bofur nodded, to show he was listening. Dorn. Definitely a dwarven name. And a master baker, well, that was fitting. Dwarves felt that any craft worth doing was worth doing well. Elves seemed to think they were so high and mighty with their wines and fine green meals, but it couldn't hold a candle to good dwarven ale masters or chefs.

"Teldu here is a good apprentice, but the lad has a lot more to learn. His uncle was a true master." Mirrenda continued, oblivious when Bofur nearly tripped over his own feet.

The mustached dwarf didn't dare look back at the cloaked figure just behind him. He smiled and felt a lot better about heading to this Brookshire. Teldu huh? Well'n good. Let the humans think the apprentice was a lad. Soft beard and youthful skin aside, Teldu was a female name.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili brought up the rear, keeping a careful watch. Listening to every sound, or lack of sound. He said nothing as his brother slowed down to match his pace.

Kili watched his older sibling and then looked back as well. "Anything?"

"No." The word was clipped and short with temper. It also showed how disappointed he was.

Kili glanced ahead at the lithe form in the middle of all the humans. Her red-hair gleamed under the light of the moon. He frowned, it made her a clear target. "She should have a veil."

The blond dwarf snorted, some of his fury from earlier finally starting to move into a slow simmer. "I dare you to tell her that."

"I will." Kili retorted. "She's reasonable."

"She's a half-wit." Fili teased. "She married you, didn't she? Clearly insane."

The dark-haired dwarf fell silent for a long moment, comfortable in the company of his older brother. And yet on edge. Fili thought he knew why. "We can come back out and go orc hunting once we've seen these Men to their town."

"Tauriel says the cloaked one is probably a dwarf." Kili pointed out randomly.

Startled, Fili looked up the column, but made out nothing from the figure indicated. "Huh." Was his only comment. But inside he was startled. It wasn't good that he'd been so focused on bloodlust that he'd missed sensing another of their race.

Kili scratched his chin and looked around as if bored. Fili's attention was immediately caught. He knew his brother's mannerisms better than any. "What's on your mind?"

"I don't have a craft."

Fili nodded slowly. He didn't have to ask why this was coming up now. Tauriel was the reason.

"You. You can blacksmith great weapons."

Fili snorted, interrupting. "No. Thorin wouldn't let me apprentice. Said he needed us. Trained us to be warriors."

The younger sibling squinted as he looked behind them again. "Killing orcs is grand and all, but ..."

"It's not a craft." Fili finished for him.

"Which doesn't matter." Kili hastened to add. "I'd rather have a weapon in my hands than a chisel, or do something like man the bellows."

Fili nodded and smiled in the darkness. "It doesn't give you something that you can go courting with."

Kili's shoulders slumped a bit. "Really? I hadn't thought of that." He lied outright.

The older of the two brothers shrugged. "You can become an apprentice. What do you want to do? Forge? Mine? Metalwork? Brewer?"

"Mmmm ...ale." Kili licked his lips, then shook his head. "I don't want to work for fifty plus years to make something when I want to marry her NOW."

"Then make her something now." Fili said unsympathetically, his mood still dark.

Kili looked shocked. "But then it wouldn't be good enough for her!"

Tiring of the conversation, the blond stopped. He stared at his younger brother and shook his head. "You already have her. Or she has you."

Stung, Kili also stopped, glaring. "Make up your damned mind! One minute you like her, the next you don't, then you do, then you're mad and ..."

Fili snapped, something dark grating on his very soul. And he knew just what to say to draw the most blood. "You're just like her pet or something. Following her around like a lap dog."

Kili's eyes widened with immediate hurt. He clenched his jaw tight and he turned, stalking away toward the others.

"Go ahead, run to her." He didn't know what made him say it. He didn't know what was driving him to hurt his brother so dearly. But he heard the roar of Kili's temper right before being tackled in the midsection as the two dwarves hit the ground heavily.

The punches they threw were real, but neither drew a weapon. Kili was the taller, but Fili was heavier and with all the strength from wielding bladed weapons rather than a bow. The two wrestled and punched, and Fili had blood running down his neck even as he settled on top of his younger sibling.

Kili snarled and snapped, while Fili leaned down over his brother, pinning his arms to the ground. The moonlight shone over their faces and Fili stilled. His baby brother's left eye was swelling and already darkening. And his teeth were clearly gritting with pain, even as he could feel the tightness in Kili's right arm as he was pinned down.

Fili sat up, letting out his breath in a woosh as the younger sibling took immediate advantage. Locking both hands together, Kili thumped the blond dwarf in the chest with all the strength he could muster despite his poor tactical position.

"Are you done?" Fili asked, rubbing his chest where it ached.

Kili threw himself to the side, nearly dislodging the blond sitting on top of him. "Maybe." He sighed heavily. "Are you?"

Fili winced and got up, holding his hand down for the younger dwarf. Typically, Kili ignored the hand and sprang up on his own. This wasn't the first time the two had fought like this.

"I'm sorry."

Kili froze in shock. That was new. He looked at his brother's face and felt lost. Fili never apologized. That was the way it was. Even when wrong, he'd make some joke of it all and life went on. "What did you say?"

And instead of saying something Fili-like, such as 'don't make me repeat myself' or 'I didn't say anything' ...the damned blond went and did it again.

"I'm sorry."

Lost and unsure, Kili looked around. The merchants had stopped about a hundred feet ahead. He could make out some of the faces watching them. Tauriel's was the easiest. "Did you have to sit on me in front of her?" He complained.

Fili sighed and poked the ground with his boot. "We need to hash this out fast, we have to get moving again."

"The humans need the rest." Kili temporized. "You were apologizing." He said it with near awe.

The blond smiled. Really smiled. And for the first time since he'd seen the Orcs he could draw in a complete breath without feeling like he was strangling. "I like her."

Kili frowned and glanced over at Tauriel. "I love her."

"I know." Fili sighed. "And sometimes I don't like her."

"Why?"

"Because you love her." The older brother shook his head. "Look, I know I'm not making sense. But, all our lives it's been me and you. Now it's you and her."

"You're with us." Kili said, feeling on unstable emotional ground.

Fili shrugged. "I don't know what I want. All my life, my future was laid out for me. By our dam, by Thorin, and ..."

"And now by you." Kili stepped up. "Look. I feel lost too. But you're right. I have her. But I'm not losing you, damn it. We're not looking to get rid of you. You want to go off, fine ...go off! But until you decide what you want ... shut up and stick close."

Stunned, Fili stared at his usually affable younger sibling who suddenly sounded as fierce as Thorin ever had. He realized that he'd forgotten that the same iron will and stubborness so typical of Dis and her brother ran through Kili as well. Behind the younger brother's laughter and wide grins, ran a stubborn streak ten miles wide.

"Look. I have an idea."

Kili stuck out his jaw, his dark eyes flashing. "Oh? If it's about Tauriel then I don't ..."

"For a courting gift." Fili finished quietly.

Kili's anger melted away just like that. He smiled, and despite the swelling eye, his good mood was instantly restored. The smile faded a bit and he watched as Fili gathered their dropped weaponry. "I have to craft it by myself."

Fili nodded, pursing his lips a bit. "Nobody says I can't give advice though."

The two dwarves walked back up the waiting group. The townspeople and merchants looked fairly done in, although they still had a few miles to go.

Bofur stood slightly apart from the group, looking vaguely disapproving. "All right then?"

Both brothers nodded, neither mentioning the new scrapes, bruises, or swollen knuckles. "We need to get moving." Fili said instead.

"We would have been, if not for stupidity." Muttered a certain slight person, cloaked.

Fili glared, remembering what his brother had said. Dwarf, huh? Not a overly big one. He wasn't impressed. "You wanting a turn?"

Bofur suddenly choked and looked away, drawing a questioning look from Kili. But the older of the three dwarves chose not to explain his amusement before the group headed out to continue toward Brookshire.


	17. Introductions

"Grand walls?" Bofur peered at the wooden structure surrounding the town of Brookshire. It was not in the best of repair.

Mirrenda, tired and still a bit in shock from the events of the day, nodded. She sounded both out of breath, and almost at the verge of tears. "See? Safe as could be."

Overhearing the comments, Fili stared at the walls and shook his head. "It's a wonder the town is still standing. The walls should be stone."

One of the larger of the merchants banged on the door leading into the town. A cursory request for a name gave them entrance into Brookshire.

Fili's eyebrows furrowed as he sneered. "What if we had you at blade-point? Did they not think to check?"

"You don't look or smell like Orcs." The cloaked dwarf commented dryly, leaning against the town wall, clearly exhausted. "Or at least you don't look like them."

Kili sniggered gleefully, catching the insult.

Fili took a menacing step toward the shorter dwarf, wanting to knock back the cloak's hood and then knock some sense into the lad. Only Bofur stepped in his way, making conciliatory noises.

Tauriel looked around the human town, noting that it was different from the only other human dwelling place she'd ever seen. This one had streets that weren't made of water at least. And there wasn't an angry fire-breathing dragon coming after them. That was helping to make Brookshire look better to her.

A group of concerned persons surrounded them, calling out to each other. Some in the crowd began weeping when told of the day's happenings.

"We'll have to set up an extra watch." A youthful male with short cropped blond hair snarled, his hand on the hilt of a weapon.

"Not you." Fili snapped.

Everyone stilled. Mirrenda looked a the blond dwarf who'd helped to rescue her and her neighbors, then over at a young man she'd known her entire life. Doubt crept in. "Six of the guards betrayed us to the Orcs. Bribed."

"Six?" Bofur closed one eye, counting in his memory of the day's events.

"Six." Mirrenda said with a deep sense of unease. "Five you encountered, but one was killed by Dorn before the Orcs took him down. Only Sered seemed shocked, and they killed him right off."

Unhappy murmurings from the crowd. Then people began moving away, parting as someone moved toward them. Someone not overly tall, but certainly wide and muscular.

"Da." The cloaked young dwarf looked down at the ground.

"Dorn's gone?" The muscular dwarf looked stricken as he cursed loudly and long. "We will sing for him later. Come."

The young guard glared at Fili, Kili and Bofur. "More damned dwarves."

"These damned dwarves saved your'n people, lad." Bofur looked unhappy. "And these people better'd think more than once about letting established guards back on these walls without supervision. Seeing as how six of your kind led to this attack."

The cloaked dwarf that only Bofur knew to be female, paused at her father's side. She didn't say anything, but nodded firmly.

The muscular dwarf stroked his thick gray and black beard and eyed the newcomers carefully. "Dern." He introduced himself. "Dorn was my brother."

"You're not going to let strangers on the wall, are you Mirrenda?" The young guard wasn't done complaining yet, it seemed.

Dern peered around the group and pointed to some young, stout males. He picked out six. "Take the first watch. We'll send replacements in three hours."

"But ..." The young guard seemed shocked. And he was stunned when Tauriel deftly slipped his weapon from the sheath at his side before he could even register her presence.

The she-elf handed the blade, hilt first, to Mirrenda.

Mirrenda, who seemed to be in charge, looked at the newcomers and nodded gratefully. "We'll meet in the morning?" She waited for their nods. "The inn is just ahead ..."

"They'll stay with us." Dern interrupted brusquely. "It's not an inn, and not fancy, but the food is decent and the ale plentiful."

Mirrenda shook her head. "You'll be mourning your brother, it might be best ..."

Dern made a flat, sliding motion with his hand. The woman fell silent. "We will sing. We will lift a tankard to Dorn. It is our way."

"Do you know them?" Someone asked hesitantly. Almost as if he expected all dwarves to know each other somehow.

The muscular dwarf shrugged. "Don't know yet."

Bofur nodded, suddenly unsure. It was a normal response for a dwarf. Upon meeting they compared names, relatives, friends, and stories. They placed each other in this manner, seeing where the lines crossed. And just now he realized, he didn't know how to respond to these unknown dwarves.

Fili and Kili were supposed to be dead. And dwarves who didn't name their ancestors or connections were immediately suspect.

His mind racing, looking for ways to get out of a night spent with other dwarves, Bofur sighed. While he was trying to figure out a way out, both Kili and Fili were grinning and accepting the offer of a good meal and ale. Even Tauriel seemed relaxed.

Damn.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Bofur sighed, barely tasting the good ale he was gulping down with far too much gusto. The venison was on the large metal spit over the large hearth in the kitchen, not yet ready. The table was plain rough wood, just right for a dwarf to jump on and give an impromptu song or dance.

Although dancing wasn't to be part of a night of meeting and mourning.

"To Dorn. A brother to be proud of, a warrior, a master, and a ripe old bastard to his dying breath." His brother wiped away an errant tear, unashamed of his emotions.

"To Dorn!" The rest of the group raised their mugs and drained them of the fine ale being served.

Bofur watched the crowd with an appraising eye. Dorn was joined by three other male dwarves of about the same age. Cousins most likely. Teldu, who had still not been introduced, was missing. And he didn't have to guess why.

Female dwarves were a treasure to a family. Rare. A source of pride, and something to be protected. Unattached dwarven males were known to come to blows, or even to draw blood, to gain the right to even MEET a female of their species.

Fili and Kili seemed oblivious to the 'lads' disappearance. But then, they didn't know what she was exactly.

"And whom is honoring us at our home this night?" Dern asked genially enough for someone who had lost a kinsman. "Who brought my child home safe?"

Bofur stirred, wanting to stop what was coming next. But the brothers, well, there was no deception in them. And pride would not allow them to deny their own names.

"Fili."

"Kili." The younger of the brothers grinned and pointed at the silent toy-maker. "That's Bofur. He's not usually so quiet though." He peered at their companion, and looked up. "Or so glum looking."

Dern's expression clouded a moment, as if trying to place the names. Bofur held his breath.

"Tauriel."

The she-elf's lovely voice drew every eye in the room. The four Brookshire dwarves eyed each other, as if unsure. "This is Anur, Brodr, and Boir. My cousins." Dern pointed at each of the other dwarves.

"Cleadeth." The voice sounded sultry, but as if practiced. The dwarf maid was lovely with smooth plaits in her red-golden hair as she stood in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Her facial hair was short and limited to her jaw line. It appeared both soft and shining and with the same pretty hue as her hair.

Shocked, each of the males reacted differently. Dern shut his eyes in consternation and the three cousins each sighed heavily. Bofur's mouth fell open and Kili grinned. Fili just stared.

"My daughter." Dern introduced them reluctantly, giving the three of them an evil look of warning. "Who shouldn't be out here."

Bofur caught his breath, looking puzzled. "I thought her name was Teldu?"

Cleadeth's lovely smile dimmed for only a second, before brightening back up again. She twirled, letting her dress flow around her ankles. "Pish." She said dismissively.

Dern shrugged and pinned Kili with an intent look. "I have two daughters." He admitted with great reluctance.

Fili's shock faded into a somewhat sloppy half-smile of supreme confidence. He only straightened up when the stern father's stare turned in his direction.

"A treasure beyong mithril." Bofur nodded graciously, and more than a little nervously.

The four male dwarves all nodded back, their expressions grim.

Cleadeth looked at the visitors, her gray eyes lighting on both Kili and Fili. She smiled boldly, obviously confident in her own charms.

Dern nearly choked and he swatted her backside. "We're not done in here, lass. Go."

"I want to sing for Uncle Dorn." She said, though Bofur was hard pressed to sense any great emotion out of her but for curiousity. The dwarven maid slipped around the table and slid in between Kili and Fili.

On the other side of Kili, Tauriel just watched without expression.

"Food first." One of the male cousins demanded, though not in a mean way. He jerked his head toward the kitchen. The lass pouted prettily, but followed him out of the room.

"She promised?" Fili asked boldly.

Dern made a face, but shook his head negatively. "Not a discussion for tonight."

"Just curious." The blond deferred the topic with a bland smile.

Dern nodded, but instead of starting to name his ancestors, as would be proper. He pinned Bofur with a long look. "I'm curious as well."

Bofur stiffened with a profound sense of foreboding.

"Fili and Kili. Brothers. I know those names." Dern's voice turned harsh. "I know your name. My cousin from my grand-da, he was with the Ironfoot a few years ago. Travelled through here not that long back, talking of a group of dwarves foolhardy enough to want to free Erebor."

Fili's voice lost the bemused sound, he straightened with pride. "Erebor is free."

"And Dain is king." Snapped Dern. "We're not that backwards out here. But you are either imposters ..."

"They are not." Tauriel interjected calmly, her gaze steady.

Dern and his cousins seemed suddenly unsure, glancing nervously back and forth at each other. Finally, the head of the house sighed, rubbing his full beard for a moment. "I owe you. For my child's life, if nothing more. And that is no little thing. But we will not follow you against the King Under the Mountain."

"We are not gathering allies." Fili said resolutely and with absolute conviction. Kili nodded in agreement.

Taken aback, the three dwarves again seemed to confer with their eyes. Finally, Dern shook his head, shrugging. "How?"

Sadly, Bofur held up one hand, stalling Fili's next comment. "The Line of Durin is over. They are dead. Buried at Erebor."

"You're not raising an army?"

Fili shook his head.

"They were grave injured, the both at the Battle of Five Armies." Bofur explained with a heavy heart. "Not supposed to survive those injuries. But the elves have healers beyond explanation." He nodded thankfully in Tauriel's direction.

"We lived. But our wizard and our dam both agreed that Dain would fight to keep the throne." Fili explained, his voice harsh with the edge of bitterness.

Dern looked unsure, not ready to believe. "You walk away from Erebor? Treasure and throne? Bloodlines and titles?"

"Civil war." Fili pronounced each word very carefully. "An Elvin Queen with the farsight assured me, there would be naught but fire, blood and tears. And not just for the dwarves."

Dern considered those words for a long, long time. He stared at his cousins and finally grunted. "I said I wouldn't go against Dain. But, I have to admit, I would be hard pressed to turn my back on Durin's Line."

The other two dwarven males nodded solemnly, their arms crossed.

"It would be a bitter war." Dern reached over and refilled his mug with ale. "But you give up much. What will you do? Did you apprentice?"

Fili grimaced and shook his head. "I can blacksmith some, not bad with weapons. But no formal training beyond that. Th ... my sister's brother was training me. Us."

"Fighters." Dern nodded, understanding immediatly. "Warriors." Kings. That word went unsaid. "Well, you have my hospitality as long as you promise not to bring armies down upon this town or my kin."

Fili nodded, more than a little relieved not to be rejected.

"FOOD!"

Tauriel started, suprised by the preemptive manner as Dern yelled back toward the kitchens.

Cleadeth appeared carrying two plates laden heavily with venison, bread and potatoes. She posed on the threshold for a moment, before gliding into the room.

Every eye watched her as she moved once more to slide in next to Kili and Fili. Right between them, placing the plates down before each one. "I'm sure you're ...hungry." Her voice was like the rub of silk, smooth and promising of things left unsaid.

"Lass, ye'll be the death of me." The dwarrowdam standing in the threshold sighed heavily, heavy ladle in her hand and of an age with her husband. She pointed to the tables and let the males bring in the heavy platters weighted down the large amounts of delightful smelling foods.

Dern beamed in her direction. "Me wife, Nurbera. And you've met Teldu."

Kili looked up and smiled in greeting, but his eyes were instantly drawn back to the stack of venison steaks.

Fili was smiling at Cleadeth, and sent a cursory greeting in the direction indicated, but that was it.

Bofur rolled his eyes. He smiled at the now uncovered Teldu, still dressed as a lad in working clothes. Her hair was brown, not the red-gold of her sister, and her curves were hidden beneath the blousy shirt. Her beard was a soft ruff. She was as quiet as her sister was flirtatious.

"You are a rich man." Bofur raised his glass toward Dern, who grinned, nodded and refilled the proferred mug.

Dwarves don't stand on ceremony too much at meal times. When the food is hot, it's time to eat. All the males started serving themselves.

Kili speared a thick venison steak and reached for the gravy. Tauriel arched one eyebrow at him. He eyed her warily, but when she didn't say anything, he poured the gravy liberally over his food. He reached for the potatoes and she didn't protest. He grinned and served himself a large portion.

Tauriel held out her own plate and Kili obliged happily, probably dropping more potatoes on her plate than she would have wanted however.

But when the dark-eyed dwarf reached for the turnips, the she-elf frowned sharply and shook her head very slightly. Kili's hand moved from the root vegetables and took the bowl of mushrooms instead. Tauriel smiled.

Nurbera frowned, having been closely watching her husband's guests. "Something wrong with my food?" She asked sharply.

Cleadeath glanced up at her mother's comment. She knew that she had Fili's attention, but apparently wasn't pleased that Kili was paying more mind to his plate. And an elf. Leaning away from the blond, she nudged Kili's shoulder.

"The turnips are delicious." Her voice hinted that he might find other things to his liking as well.

Fili laughed outright, shaking his head. "Something wrong with my brother's belly, not your cooking." He explained. "It was opened up by orcs none too recently."

Dern and his wife both nodded, instantly concerned. Nurbera pointed toward the kitchen. "I can make some broth."

Kili looked alarmed at the thought of losing his bounty and stabbed the steak with his knife, his eyes wide.

Tauriel shook her head, nodding graciously in the dwarrowdam's direction. "The venison looks extremely tender and delicious. I'm sure it will be fine. But the more dense root vegetables may be tougher for his system as yet."

Mollified and charmed by the she-elf's gracious manner, Dern's wife smiled. "I've made up a room for you. The boys will have a large dormer to themselves, I'm afraid."

Fili, not liking the way Cleadeth was staring at Kili, cleared his throat. "Tauriel will most likely share a room with her spouse. We guys can share a room, not a problem." He was being deliberately vague in order to shock and tease.

Bofur grinned, knowing instinctively where the blond dwarf was going with this. Oh, this was going to be fun.

Cleadeth brightened, if such was possible. "Oh! Another elf is coming?"

Kili shook his head, his mouth too full of good venison to talk.

Dern nodded slowly, thinking quickly. "Fine. We'll need to send word to the lads guarding the walls to let him in though. Teldu, go get me something to write with."

The quiet daughter stood, her plate mostly untouched. Obviously tired and still upset over her uncle's death.

Kili shook his head negatively, chewing happily even with a grin on his face.

Tauriel looked puzzled, wondering why Fili hadn't explained. "Kili and I are handfasted." It seemed simple enough to her.

Dern looked confused a moment, as if trying to decipher the meaning behind her words. Handfasting was a foreign concept to the dwarves.

Nurbera didn't pay as much attention to the word used. Instead her sharp eyes caught the movement of the she-elf's hand as she touched Kili's arm. And how protective she'd been over his healing stomach. How her eyes followed the dark-haired dwarf's movements. Her eyes widened with surprise. "She's your wife, lad?"

Kili took a big gulp of ale to clear his throat as he shrugged proudly. Nodding.

Fili and Bofur both laughed at the looks of shock among the dwarves here. Especially Cleadeth's wide eyes. Both of them nodded with satisfaction.

"Handfasted?" Dern questioned, still not quite sure of the word.

Bofur touched his heart and looked heavenward. "An elf tradition. But King Thranduil himself couldn't deny them. And didn't."

The mention of the Elven king of the Mirkwood had the dwarves holding their collective breaths in wonder. "You met him?" Nurbera whispered in shock, her hand going to her throat in wonder. "Is he as beautiful as they say?"

"Pretty enough." Bofur smiled sheepishly. "We were his guests for a time, each with our own rooms and private quarters. That'd be where'n these two love birds met. Well, in the forest first, then as guests of the king."

Fili nearly spit out his ale to hear their prisons described as such. Kili laughed outright while Tauriel took a deep breath, a bit bemused by the mirth of the dwarves.

"See'un? Tauriel here was a captain in King Thranduil's guards at the time. Now she be finding her way to make herself a fine dwarrowdam." Bofur slapped the table with good humor, drawing smiles from his listeners. Except for one.

Cleadeth frowned. "He's courting her?" She sounded disappointed and confused.

"He's married to her." Teldu spoke for the first time since being uncloaked. Her voice held a certain dollop of satisfaction.

"Well, truth is, he's courting her too." Fili fingered the beads hanging near the corner of his mouth. "Elven marriage, make no mistake, but it is binding. But he has plans to court and marry her in our traditions too."

Fili moved his feet swiftly out of the way, knowing his brother well. Kili's eyes flashed with temper to have the blond expose his plans to everyone. He kicked out under the table, but his brother was out of range. Cleadeth's chair wasn't.

The dwarf-maid shrieked in surprise as her chair jumped backwards a few inches.

Dern smiled with deep and genuine pleasure for the first time since hearing of his brother's demise. His sharp mind didn't miss the fact that these two really were princes of the line of Durin, not with an elven wife and knowledge of the Mirkwood. "And you lad, not taken with wife yet?"

Fili's smile faded a bit around the edges. He shrugged, thinking over his words carefully. "I was engaged. And it's not broken formally. But she knows me as buried, being kin to Dain's own wife. So I suppose ..." He let his voice trail off.

Dern winced, catching the implications quickly. "Sorry I am to hear of that, lad."

Cleadeth looked crestfallen. Two handsome young dwarves in her orbit and one wouldn't look at her for the elf by his side, and the other engaged already?

Teldu sighed, seeing her sister disappointed. "He's saying he's free now. His engagement ended."

"But?" Cleadeth was confused. "All he has to do is tell her he's not buried. Not dead."

Dern sighed heavily, knowing dwarven politics far better than his pampered and sheltered daughter. One who was far more spoiled than he cared to acknowledge, being the baby of the family. "He's as good as dead, and that's all you need to know." He announced more harshly than he'd intended, not explaining to his wife or daughters exactly who their guests really were.

Cleadeth's lip trembled to be spoken to in such a manner. Fili touched her hand to reassure her, and her smile lit up the room.

Teldu rolled her eyes.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the number of OC's introduced here. But dwarves seem to come in family groups and sets. :)


	18. Bathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemon warning ...

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel's green eyes were alert as she quietly watched the room full of dwarves. They were loud, raucous and without decorum. But their spontaneous songs held true warmth and grief, and although perhaps they were bolstered by large amounts of ale, they were honest in their feelings.

Dorn, the deceased master baker, was sung about in honor. His name was raised in rememberance and the stories grew bolder, braver, and perhaps even a bit on the fantastical side as the night drew longer.

"Tauriel?"

The she-elf looked up a the quiet call of her name, spotting Nurbera gesturing to her, she stood. Seated beside her, Kili looked up as she rose, his face questioning. Tauriel patted his shoulder before moving off to see what their host's spouse needed.

"Come." The dwarrowdam led her out of the large hall, down a side corridor.

Tauriel glanced back, surprised to see both Teldu and Cleadeth following her. The red-head frowned lightly. "Women do not stay for these mourning rites?"

Cleadeth scoffed. "Mourning rites? More like drunken stories and tall tales."

Teldu frowned, her face lined with the bereavement of the baker's passing. "I'd like to stay."

Nurbera shook her head, giving a sad smile to all three females. "Women can stay, it's not a gender stricture." She assured the tall elf. "But Teldu, you are about to fall out and should be excused. Cleadeth, I need your help in the kitchen. And ..." Here the stout woman hesitated a moment. "Tauriel, is that alright to be calling you?"

The elf nodded, surprised at the question. "It is my name."

The dwarf's face twitched slightly, as if amazed that she was on a first name basis with an elf of all things. "I only thought that you might be growing tired of hearing the men sing."

Now it was Tauriel's turn to be surprised. As a captain in King Thranduil's guard, it had been her duty to stand sentry whenever and wherever he directed. Including many boring meetings and entertainments. It had not occurred to her to ask to be excused. Thinking about it now, she realized that she had not been bored, and in fact had been quite comfortable. "Not as such."

"Or you might like a chance to get in a bath before we run out of time and the sun rises before we are done singing." Nurbera added in a rush.

This did sound appealing, after several days on the road and with orc blood stiffening her travel leathers.

"Oh! Do you use bath salts?" Cleadeth went from petulant to curious between one blink of the eyes and the next.

"Salt my bath water?" Tauriel asked, taken aback. "It's not for drinking or cooking."

As tired as Teldu was, the young dwarf-maid snorted in surprised amusement at the misconception. Even Nurbera lost some of her reserve and smiled widely.

Cleadeth was not deterred, however. "Then you use lotions. On your skin."

"Yes." Tauriel nodded, not understanding the connection between a food preservative and seasoning with something to keep her skin from cracking. But she didn't elaborate on her answer, feeling there was no need.

The dwarf-maid felt differently, leaning forward in her eagerness. "My lotions have milk and honey." She shared the information like it was a secret.

The red-head blinked rapidly, looking at the other females for guidance. "Really?"

"She makes it herself." Teldu murmured. "I prefer aloe. Mother makes it."

"A goodly and useful plant." Tauriel agreed, still unsure.

Cleadeth was becoming a bit anxious, not getting what information she wanted. "What do you use on your skin to make it so soft and creamy?"

Tauriel shook her head and shrugged. "When the weather turns dry, I use lotion to keep the skin from cracking. It is useful."

"No, I mean for beauty." Cleadeth waved in general at the tall she-elf. "You must add something to your bath water. Scent maybe?"

The red-head shook her head, starting to understand a bit more about what was being asked. But clueless how to really answer without offending. "Sometimes mint or herbs."

Cleadeth blinked, awed. "And that makes your skin so smooth?"

"No." Tauriel kept her expression neutral. "It helps take away scent so that when hunting we are not so easily detected."

The young female dwarf was not so easily put off, however. "You have to use something in your bath!"

The she-elf blinked twice and answered truthfully. "Soap."

Teldu actually laughed and turned away from the group. "I'm for bed. Sleep well."

Nurbera bid her daughter a good night, and reached out and snagged her into a reluctant hug. Teldu relented to the affection of her mother as her dam whispered how glad she was that they weren't singing for two lost loved ones this night.

Tauriel watched the two, glad that they had had a hand in bringing the lass home. Still bemused to find out that female dwarves had beards as well as the males though. That had startled her earlier when she realized that the apprentice baker was in fact, a she.

"It's not fair!" Cleadeth protested as her mother then prodded one daughter upstairs, and the other into the kitchen. "I'm tired too!"

"You didn't nearly die today." Nurbera muttered, pointing the youngster toward the dishes. She turned to the tall she-elf and sighed, eying her carefully. "I've had a hot bath prepared for you upstairs, come, I'll show you."

Cleadeth was wrapping an apron around her dress, pouting. She looked pointedly at Tauriel as they passed her. "Did you put a love spell on him?"

Nurbera felt her stomach drop at the rude words, her hand whipped out and cuffed her daughter's ear. "Do not bring shame to this clan." She hissed. The fine matron then shot a look at Tauriel, and reached into a container to pull out a handful of herbs. "For the bath."

Tauriel said not a word, just continued to follow the dwarrowdam up the stairs. The home was spacious and large, and clean. "She's a child." The she-elf offered the words hesitantly.

"A vain one." Nurbera nodded grimly.

"Do you think I put a love spell on him?" Tauriel asked as the dwarrowdam reached a door at the right side of the corridor.

The dwarf matron hesitated and shook her head a bit too slowly. Her voice was almost apologetic as she tried to explain. "We hear many things about the magic of the elves."

The red-head peered into the comfortable looking room, happy to see steam rising from the large bath tub that had been brought in. "We hear that all dwarves live underground and in caves."

The droll tone of the she-elf had Nurbera barking out a stiff laugh and a genuine smile. "No, some of us prefer a nice built house." She walked in and dropped the herbs into the bath water and gestured at the thick towels folded neatly on a sturdy dresser.

Tauriel sniffed the bath water, recognizing the scent of fresh herbs meant to hasten healing. "Many things can be bespelled, enhanced or enchanted. Love is not one of them." The elf dipped her hand into the water happily. "Nor do I have that talent. Those are things of the great Kings and Queens of old. Beyond us now."

Nurbera decided that elf or not, she might like this tall newcomer. "Have ye and the lad been married long?"

Tauriel shook her head, smiling at the warmth she sensed in the other female's manner. "A little over a month."

Nurbera lost her smile. "And most of that with him healing and you two travelling?" She guessed. "That's not nearly enough time alone for two just wed. Well, never mind that. You get a nice long soak."

"My thanks." Tauriel gave a short bow of her head.

The dwarrowdam studied her a moment, then smiled as she came to a decision and returned the nod.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Alone in the room, Tauriel eyed the rather large tub. It was a kindness, she hoped. And not some way to exclude her from the group downstairs. Yet she had not sensed any falseness in the dwarrowdam, who she thought she might quite like.

It took little time to strip off her stained clothing and hang it over a cleverly carved rack she guessed was for that purpose. Now that she was about to get clean, she could feel the caked on grime and the chalky feel of her feet. A hot bath was perfect.

She didn't want to wash her hair, but it had been too long and she could feel an almost-itch on her scalp from dust and sweat. Deciding it was more important to be clean, Tauriel didn't pin her hair up, but climbed into the tub.

The she-elf hissed with pleasure as she slid into the hot water without hesitation, sinking in. The heated water closed over her head as she let herself slide down for a long minute before she came up for air.

"Hello."

Her green eyes closed against the hot water, and her long hair now in her face. Tauriel startled, even though she instantly recognized that particular voice.

When she blinked the water from her eyes and parted her streaming hair out of her face, she found that Kili's dark eyes were gleaming with pleasure.

Tauriel stared at him and then a slow smile crossed her expressive lips. "Following me?"

The dark-haired dwarf sat down on a low stool and began pulling off his scuffed and heavy boots. "Dern's wife told me that you had a question for me. Sent me up here. Do you have a question?" His voice teased her.

Vividly, Nurbera's words replayed in Tauriel's mind. About how she and Kili hadn't had enough time alone together yet. "I don't have a question." Her voice turned gravelly with want as she watched her handfasted love begin stripping off his outer tunic.

"I do." Kili gave her a lascivious grin. "Want me to scrub your back?"

Tauriel didn't even think of looking away as her dark-eyed love begin taking off his clothing. "Dwarves wear too many clothes." She complained.

"No argument from me." Huffed an impatient Kili, his fingers trying to loosen the ties on his inner tunic.

She watched his clothing hit the floor one piece at a time. The red-head frowned. "There's a perfectly good clothes rack to hang those on."

He said a very naughty word and her jewel-bright eyes widened. Then she chuckled. It seemed her love was in a hurry. And truthfully, it wasn't only the water heating her blood as she watched him divest himself of piece after piece of leather and cloth.

Seeing piece by piece of his skin be revealed was an erotic sight. She watched his muscles bunch and release as he moved, power in those motions that seemed barely contained by his hair-dusted skin.

Finally Kili was down to one dark burgandy shirt hanging loosly on his muscular frame. He tossed his pants onto the steep pile of dirty clothes and reached up to unlace the ties across his chest. The shirt rose, giving Tauriel a peek-a-boo look at how much he wanted her. Her mouth went dry.

"I want to see you." She whispered darkly.

Kili looked up at her, only to freeze as he saw something in her eyes. Something that called to him down to his very marrow.

"Don't stop." She pleaded, her voice lacking strength but full of need.

Kili didn't bother with the ties after all, he ripped the shirt off over his head and ignored any ripping sounds that the cloth made.

Tauriel stared. He'd put on weight since they'd begun travelling, despite having only camp food. His chest had filled back out and she loved the way the muscles moved under his skin. She loved the soft curls of his chest hair that grew across each pectoral and then followed a line down his abdomen.

She saddened at the sight of his new scars that interrupted the flow of his body. Scars that hinted at fell wounds that had nearly cost him his life. "I love you."

Kili's heart, already racing, sped up further as he took in too much air in one breath. "Impossible."

Tauriel stared at him, slowly lifting her hand to him. Mutely asking him to join her.

The dark-eyed dwarf stared at his own personal treasure and almost wept. "You are heaven and I am earth. Elf and dwarf. Star and cavern."

"You are beautiful to me." She breathed out the words softly, still holding out her hand.

Kili shook with intensity of his love for her, he reached for her hand, but instead of joining her ...he jerked her close to the edge of the tub. Water splashed over the sides and her green eyes widened as they were suddenly face to face.

He kissed her. She kissed him. Who moved first was impossible to decipher. They were just suddenly sealed to one another. Water lapped a the edge of the tub, and neither cared. Tongues were entangled as he held the back of her head, his fingers speared through her wet hair. She held the sides of his face, his rough stubble erotic to the touch of her palms.

It was long moment later that both pulled back, their breathing labored and heavy. Their gazes intense. Kili suddenly grinned and climbed into the deep tub, hissing as the hot water surround him.

Instead of making room for him, Tauriel gave him no space but moved in quickly for another long and drugging kiss. Skin to skin, they couldn't get closer, but both tried as they ran their hands over each other. Exploring. Tasting. Exalting in the sensual play of flesh on flesh. Her breasts rubbing against his hair chest nearly made her cry out. Her touch, running up and down his hip and thigh had his eyes nearly crossing.

Tubs weren't easy to make love in. Especially not with the inherent difference in their height. Eventually they ended up with him standing, holding on to the tub's edge with Tauriel's legs wrapped around his hips. He held her weight easily, moving his hips with strength beyond measure given leverage by his hold on the tub's edge. Her arms held him tight around his shoulders and neck, scractch marks decorating his skin as his head was buried in the crook of her neck. Breathy sounds and moans escaping her as they brought each other shuddering over the edge.

"I think I drew blood." She whispered, her voice beyond hoarse, worried about his shoulders and powerful back.

Kili swallowed heavily. "Back is fine, it's my knees that are shaking."

"My toes curled." Tauriel sounded awed.

"The water's gone cold."

"I think most of the water is on the floor." She frowned, peering over the edge of the tub. Her red-hair was wet and hung straight down until it's length touched the water. From there, the red tresses spread out around the two lovers like a layer of silk upon the water.

Kili grinned against the soft texture of her skin. "I think you just tried to drown me again." He teased.

She balled up her fist and hit him on the shoulder with enough force to make him pretend to whoosh out a breath. His grin never dimmed. "We need to sop up the water off the floor." She moaned, not wanting to move and disconnect their bodies.

Kili seemed to feel the same way, frowning at the unwanted suggestion.

Tauriel sighed. "Not our house, and we don't want to be bad guests."

The dwarf sighed with regret as they each began to move. Finally out of the considerably cooled down water, Kili moved around the room unclothed and unconcerned about his nudity. Tauriel watched him with wonder in her eyes, until he tossed several of the thick towels at her. "For the floor." He teased.

Brought back to reality, the she-elf laughed lightly at her own expense and sopped up the excess water. When she looked up, Kili was holding a wide towel out for her and she stepped into him. He wrapped the soft cloth around her, but didn't let go. Kili rested his head against her chest and tightened his arms around her back.

Tauriel's own arms moved automatically around him, marvelling at the heat he was generating, and at how much she really loved him. "If you are the earth, how can you be so warm?"

Kili led her over to the bed, pushing her onto her stomach. Bemused she complied, listening as he went over to their packs. She could then feel him return and settle down, sitting beside her prone body. When the first touch came, she moaned. He was brushing out her hair.

"Sunlight heats the earth from above. But there is fire beneath the ground, make no mistake. Dangerous things live in the earth." He murmured, each stroke of the brush a caress.

Tauriel turned her head toward him, lazily opening her green eyes. He was still nude. Sitting beside her, she could clearly see his stong thigh and lower abdomen, his modesty preserved only by the way he was seated. It was a heady, and very sexy view.

"Are you a dangerous thing?" She mused.

He chuckled and she squeaked slightly as he gave her towel-covered backside a small swat. "Only to elf-maids."

Tauriel rolled in the direction away from him, the towel loosened and exposing her creamy body to him. Still holding the ends of her hair in his hands, it was long enough that it didn't pull at her.

"Just how dangerous are you?"

Kili's expression had first been him staring at her with his mouth slightly open. At her words, his lips turned up into a wide grin. Tauriel's heart sped up. She loved that smile beyond any treasure this world had to offer.

"I always assumed the light from stars to be cold." He teased her.

Tauriel's eyebrows rose as she tugged gently on her own hair, trying to move him closer to her. "Light is life. And calls life from the earth."

Kili nodded, letting her draw him closer. "Sunlight yes, but not the lights given life in the darkness. Starlight is a beautiful, but distant sight."

The she-elf reached out and did what she loved most. She touched his face. "There are plants that bloom only at night."

"Sometimes those plants are dangerous." He warned her, his rough hands running down the side of her body to her hip. His fingers curled possessvely on her sensitive skin.

"To elf-maids?" She guessed, her hands moving to his shoulders, drawing him in closer to her.

Kili grinned a moment before his lips found hers. "Oh indeed." He whispered against her kiss.

Tauriel lost her breath for several moments as he ran his subble rough face along her collarbone and then down to capture her breast with his mouth. Her head arched back, her throat white and creamy as she panted a bit.

"Then I am glad that I am the first elf-maid you met."

"Not." Kili's voice was nearly lost as he abandoned her breast to move to the other one. His hand moving to soothe the flesh he'd just let go of.

Tauriel nearly missed the word in the pleasure garnered from him suckling and teasing her body. Her hips bucked beneath him, and she was delighted to feel that he was wanting her just as much as she craved him. And yet, that word burrowed into her consciousnes enough to make her mind reconnect. "Not? Not what?"

"Not the first elf-maid I've seen." He said carelessly, his mouth moving down to the upper slope of her flat stomach, trying to nibble on the taut skin there. His tongue lapping at the silky smoothness of her body.

Without thought or command, her hand left his shoulder to gather in his thick dark hair, pulling him up so she could peer down into his face. "No?"

"You are the only one I've ever loved." He assured her, unalarmed. Kili gave her a wink. "Rivendell lasses can't hold a candle to you. Too sedate, too calm, no danger to them at all. It was all harps and flutes and looking down their noses at a poor dwarf prince."

She gave him a long stare.

His grinned widened. "I never even spoke to one. Let alone inviting any of them to search my pants."

Tauriel was teased into a laugh as she recalled his question to her back at King Thranduil's prison cells.

"They did have better accomodations for us though." Kili leaned forward, biting the skin just beneath her breast. Her lax fingers slid from his hair. "The company was pale though, compared to you."

She laughed with what little breath he left her as he delved into the soft skin around her belly button. His scruffy almost-beard was driving her to distraction, and she arched up beneath him.

"Better than the king's prison cells? Surely not."

Kili chuckled roughly against her skin and she caught her breath at the sensual feel. "The baths were bigger though, better. Large fountain that could take all of us. A bit open mind you, but fun."

Tauriel nodded absently, not really paying attention beyond the feelings he was pulling from her. It took several breathless minutes before his words even pierced her fogged brain. When it did, her green eyes flew open in shock.

Kili stared at her in surprise as she yanked on his hair again, pulling his head up so she could see his eyes. "Love?" He protested the interruption.

The red-head stared at him, her green eyes wide. "You bathed in the fountains at Rivendell? Bathed. With soap and everything? In the fountains? The ones dedicated to Eru?"

"We're not Orcs, of course we used soap." Kili blinked, his own mind still groggy with desire. "I don't know which fountain. Big fountain on the east with lots of levels and falls of water. It was fun. Held all of us. Had a grand water fight." He paused. "Well, uncle wasn't there or Gandalf. And Bilbo. But the rest of us dwarves."

Tauriel was so surprised that she gave a choked laugh more out of amazement rather than amusement. Then she was laughing even more as she could just about picture the looks on some of those Elvish faces sure to have witnessed such a scene.

Kili stared up at her, feeling her grip on his hair relax. He grinned, unsure why his story was so amusing. But he had other priorities at the moment. And he didn't like her distracted from his attentions.

Tauriel's laugh ceased as she felt his teeth on her inner thigh. Then his mouth and his tongue. Moans of pleasure replaced her laughter as his attention moved higher, to more needy things.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	19. Spring

Fili groaned as he settled himself down at the table.

Bofur grinned at the younger male and pushed a platter of fat breakfast rolls at him. "Head on a bit wobbly?"

The blond grimaced, but shook his head to indicate he was fine. "Am fine." He grunted, regretting the movement instantly.

A thick plate filled with eggs, the yolks shiny and wiggling along with fat strips of still sizzling bacon dropped right in front of him with a loud 'thunk'.

Startled, and with his stomach feeling like it was swimming in rough waters, Fili backed away from the plate as if it were an actual threat. He eyed the still intact egg yolks staring up at him, then he looked up at the person glaring down at him.

Dern's other daughter raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to say something. Teldu. His brain supplied the name a bit late. "Thank you." He swallowed hard, but refused to show that he wasn't sure if he was up to actually eating.

Bofur chuckled, tearing into a baked roll filled with dates. "This is delicious, lass."

Dern himself, sitting at the head of the table, grinned even though he himself was looking a bit pale underneath his dark tan.

"Leave us be, girl. Not a thing wrong with lifting a mug or two of ale." Fili said, his voice a bit condescending.

"Or three or four." Bofur agreed happily, with an added wink.

Dern sighed. "Five or seven."

"You'un skipped six." Bofur commented, still too happy for Fili's peace of mind.

Teldu sighed. "You passed six long before I went to bed, and then continued drinking until you greeted the sun." She stabbed a fork into a piece of ham and slid it onto Fili's plate with a not-so-sincere smile.

"Now lass, we were raising a mug to your uncle's memory. And the fact that your brother came home safe." Fili groaned, staring morosely at his plate.

Dern and Bofur shared a surprised look, and then surpressed grins.

Teldu's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I don't have a brother."

Fili nodded, picking up a piece of perfectly cooked bacon and wondering if it would stay down if he managed to eat it. Then he frowned. "The apprentice baker. All attitude and ingratidude. Snotty. Needs some manners knocked into his thick skull."

Bofur dropped his head sadly. Dern's face turned red as he fought not to laugh out loud.

The young blond dwarf-maiden listened with growing surprise, and temper. She reached for her knife blade and pulled Fili's plate away from him, slicing his ham into tiny portions with far more intensity than needed.

He watched her, fascinated by the small controlled movements. "Sorry, he's your brother. You can't control his actions."

Teldu looked up at him. For the first time Fili saw that her eyes were a pale blue, almost spooky looking. She narrowed her gaze on him. "I. Don't. Have. A. Brother."

Fili's brain was having trouble catching up through the fog of too much ale and not enough sleep. He peered over at Bofur, but found that honorable dwarf refusing to meet his gaze. He looked over at Dern, who was completely red in the face and shaking from the effort not to laugh. At him.

The blond looked back at the dwarf-maiden, who was showing him too many teeth. Random thoughts began to interconnect and weave themselves together. He blinked. Once. Twice. "You're the apprenctice baker?"

"The ungrateful one. All attitude. Thick headed." She agreed snidely. "And you're the one that's not quite bright."

Stung. Fili's mouth went to work without a filter. "Or you're not that noticeable."

Dern's laughter faded as he looked back and forth between the two younger dwarves. Bofur merely groaned and banged his fist against his left ear. "Oh laddie."

Instantly regretting his words, Fili didn't react when he was suddenly wearing his breakfast. Egg yolk dripped down his mustache, coating the beads woven in there. He cocked his head to the side and watched her huffy exit. "I think I just escaped rather lightly."

Dern choked and shrugged, tossing the blond a napkin.

Kili walked into the room with Tauriel, grinning happily. The red-head looked confused. "Teldu didn't look happy." She turned and spied Fili, stopping. "Did you forget how to use your eating utensils?"

Bofur laughed at that, nearly tipping himself off the bench pulled up to the table. Fili glowered and wiped at his face. Kili pointed at a spot on his forehead. "Missed some." He said helpfully, even though he was actually pointing at the only clean spot on his brother's face.

"You're late." Fili snapped.

Kili grinned, completely unrepentant. He'd woken up to Tauriel petting his chest hair and exploring his body. "I got ...distacted."

Cleadeth walked into the room, her eyes widening as she spied Fili's condition. She walked over to him with a big mug of something reddish. The pretty dwarf-maid batted her long eyelashes and patted her red-gold curls. "This will help you feel better."

Wincing, Fili sniffed and took a careful sip. When nothing bad happened, he drained half the mug. Burping happily, he nodded. "Many thanks. At least someone knows how to treat a poor guy in the morning."

Dern looked mournfully at his preening daughter. "That was my drink."

"I'll bring you another, da." Cleadeth promised even as she took the napkin from Fili and dipped it in some water to help him clean off the worst of the egg.

Dern considered both of his daughters for a long moment and sighed. "I count myself a rich man, having two grand and beautiful girls."

Bofur nodded sagely. "You are, you are. You also have my sympathy." He said with great mocking solemnity.

The head of the household sighed and shooed a highly reluctant Cleadeth from Fili's side, sending her back to the kitchens. Tauriel watched her go with an odd and arrested look on her face. But before she could ask any questions, Dern cleared his throat, obviously wanting to speak.

"Only a few here know your identities." He began slowly.

Bofur nodded, suddenly all serious. Fili drained the remainder of whatever hangover medicine he'd been offered. Kili and Tauriel both stopped serving themselves breakfast to listen.

"But you both are too well known, or at least your uncle was. The line of Durin? Any dwarves you are likely to meet will want to know who you are and who you're related to as well."

Bofur nodded, his good humor suddenly leeched away. "Aye. I've been thinking about that."

Fili felt like he was swallowing something bitter. "Yes."

Only Kili looked abashed, having not really considered that aspect of leaving his former life behind.

"Your names aren't True Names, the land be blessed for that." Dern said, startling Tauriel who looked at Kili in surprise. "But ..."

"True Names?" The she-elf asked, startling Dern who had for the moment actually not thought about the fact that she wasn't a dwarf.

Kili patted her hand, entwining her elegant fingers with his own. "We'll speak on that later." He said, frowning as he turned his attention back to Dern. "Changing our names will be easy, naming our ancestors though ..."

Tauriel shifted, uncomfortable with the idea of changing the names of the two dwarves. Kili's hand tightened on hers as an expression of comfort and reassurance.

"Aye, the history must be right." Bofur sighed as he picked at his last piece of bacon. Dwarfs prided themselves on their family histories, and they were shared at any given opportunity.

Dern leaned in, looking very serious. "Lads. I have an offer. The reason that I know of you all so much, is not only that my cousin was with the Ironfoot. But also that old Hamnar used to know your father."

Fili paused thoughtfully, thinking back to his childhood. "Hamnar Coppernose?"

Dern nodded as Bofur's mood lightened. "I knew him, a long time ago. He was old back'n then." The toy-maker said slowly.

Kili scrunched up his face, thinking quickly. "Son of Ham, son of Tamnar? Mam said he was foul-mouthed, but rock solid."

"Lost his leg to mining accident sometime after your da's passing." Dern told them. "Moved out here, and did some little digging to support himself. Good dwarf. Died two years back. Nearly two-hundred thirty."

Fili nodded slowly, his thoughts sharpening along with his appetite. He picked up a fat date roll, tearing a chunk off. "No children?"

"Whose to say otherwise? Old Hamnar served your father long and well, never had a bad word to say about him. So, what if he had two sons named after his old leader's boys? It's at least within the realm of possibility."

Kili brightened. "You mean ... keep our names."

Tauriel's sense of discomfort eased a bit as she listened. She didn't like the idea of changing their names, even if the reasoning was sound. Elves put great importance in names.

"And we already know his history, some of it anyway." Fili bit into his roll briskly. "This is good."

Dern raised one eyebrow and chuckled. "Tell Teldu, she baked it."

Fili frowned, as if the good date roll turned to sawdust in his mouth. "Nevermind."

"Probably safer to let that one be for a while." Bofur agreed, then turned back to their host. "You know Hamnar's ancestry?"

Dern bobbed his head in agreement. "Should, we were neighbors for years." He paused. "He left some land and a hole in the ground. The town, well, they weren't sure what to do and I told them that I'd see if any of Hamnar's family would be interested in taking it on. They hold the deeds until then. Well, what if I told them his sons had arrived?"

Fili leaned back, his mind calculating quickly. "Can't be that easy."

Bofur stroked his mustache as he considered every angle. "If dwarves they've known for years swear you are Hamnar's kin. Who would say differently?"

Tauriel frowned. "They would just hand over property like that?"

Fili shook his head. "Probably need to pay the back taxes the town would levy."

Dern nodded. "Yes. But there's a house. Needs repairing and all. But not bad. And a small mine, makes enough to live off of anyway."

Kili grinned. Tauriel put her hand on his arm. "You don't have to do any of this. Giving them a history and a house? Is it rude to ask why?"

Dern looked embarrassed a bit. He shrugged and then gave a big sigh. "I won't support them if they wanted to try and take on King Dain." He stressed the title heavily, making Kili flinch. "But ...it's the Line of Durin, ain't it? Can't turn my back on that. I thought about it long and hard, but ... Durin's Folk."

"We'd pay the taxes." Fili asserted strongly.

Dern's eyebrows raised, giving the younger blond a long look. You have the money for that? And if part of him also wondered if the princely young dwarf had the backing to be a good candidate for courting his daughter? So.

Fili leaned back, his eyes going to the kitchen. Then back to the father. "I have no title, not anymore." Left unsaid was the assertion that all he no longer had was the title. He had the training, the backing, and the strength of character. He was rightfully the King Under the Mountain.

Dern pursed his lips. "You have Hamnar's name now. And his house, if you can claim it from the Council. Humans all." Left unsaid was that he was withholding judgement on Fili as a suitor for anything else.

Fili nodded, knowing he was basically promising to prove himself to this stern, but fair, dwarf.

Kili looked confused. He scratched his head and sighed. "So. Am I still Kili or what?" He stopped and gave a glare at his brother as a partially bitten date roll bounced off his head.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

A week later, not long after daybreak. Tauriel looked around the huge house with something akin to worry. Not that she'd let that show.

"Sound bones." Fili and Bofur were conversing, taking notes of all repairs that were completed, and those still to be done. "Railings are sound. Good and thick. The three steps we talked about have all been replaced already."

The she-elf reached out for the stair railing and felt the solid wood beneath her hand. Strong wood, sturdy and with no give. The workmanship was superb. Her fingers tightened, as if to steady herself. It had taken three days to argue with the town council, all humans. And to bring in several dwarves all swearing to Kili and Fili's ancestry, and rights.

Now they owned a house.

"Tauriel? Love?" Kili's voice, from somewhere upstairs. "Where are the room plans that I drew up?"

Swallowing hard, the red-head looked around, her green eyes over bright. Although the house was spacious and lovely, she couldn't help but feel nervous. She'd been getting odd looks in town all week. Disapproving looks.

Fili walked back into the entranceway, yelling up the stairs. "You should let your wife plan, not you!"

Foot stomping was heard upstairs, startling Tauriel. Fili caught her conserternation and grinned. "He's just testing the floorboards, making sure our repairs are sound."

A breath whooshed out from her lungs and the she-elf turned away from the blond dwarf. Quickly she walked down a hallway and found herself in the kitchen. Not where she wanted to be.

Turning, she pulled up short. Fili was right in front of her, his eyes narrowed. "Are you alright? You look like a songbird in a new dug shaft."

Brought up short, Tauriel stared at him, not understanding the reference at all.

The blond stared at her, noting her lost expression. "Uhm, nevermind. Look if Kili did anything to ..."

"He's done nothing wrong." She rushed the words out, appalled that he would even think such a thing.

Taken aback, Fili simply studied her.

"I'm not sure about staying here." Tauriel admitted reluctantly. "I know you, Bofur and Kili like the idea. And it's good to establish a new identity, especially since it allows your names to remain."

Fili relaxed a bit, putting her mood down to 'female stuff'. "We don't have to stay here. Yes, it's a good option. Nice place and helps us establish a new identity. But this doesn't have to be home, or permanent. We could just stay here until we build a house you're more comfortable with."

Tauriel shook her head, finding it hard to explain. She was a creature who knew her worth. Knew her place. The red-head was confident in her abilities and had held few doubts. "It's not the house, it's this place."

Feeling out of his depth, Fili pointed upstairs. "Let me get Kili." He offered.

"No!" She reached for him, her pale hand capturing his thick forearm in a surprisingly strong grip.

The blond stared at his brother's spouse, unsure of what the problem could be. "Tauriel?"

"Am I supposed to cook?" She blurted out that question, probably because they were in the kitchen. And it didn't touch on her true misgivings.

Fili scratched his belly and shook his head. "We just had a quick breakfast in town." He grimaced at the memory of all the negotiations and money he'd had to put out for catching up on taxes and ordering initial supplies to set up the household. It didn't touch on their treasure trove, but it went against the grain to spend so much so quickly.

Tauriel nodded, then shook her head. "Nurbera is a great cook, and Teldu bakes." She started.

Light began to filter through and Fili sighed. "Are you asking if we expect you to cook and clean for all of us? Yes."

Tauriel startled.

Fili laughed and held up one hand, stopping her from speaking. "I jest, I jest!"

The she-elf glowered at him.

The blond shrugged and tried to explain. "Cooking isn't gender based among the dwarves. Not enough females. Men cook, because, well ...we have to in order to survive. Nurbera cooks for her family because she wants to I suppose. Teldu's craft is baking, but she could have been a miner, a crafter, a jewelry designer, or whatever. We're not expecting you to cater to us."

Tauriel waved her hand around the room in general. "No. I mean, thank you. But what I want to know is, what traditions are there for female dwarves? Dwarrowdams? Am I not doing something that I'm supposed to?" She paused. "What are True Names?"

Suddenly serious, Fili paused and made a face. "Kili ..."

"Kili would tell me whatever he thinks would make me happy. He is teaching me Khuzdul, and that makes both you and Bofur unhappy." She pointed out.

The male sighed heavily and grimaced. "Not unhappy, just ... well, Khuzdul is our secret. Dwarven."

"And I'm an elf." Tauriel drew back to her full height, her green eyes suddenly looking dulled.

Ashamed, Fili swore and ran an agitated hand through his blond hair. "I don't think of you like that." He said, not even sure if he was lying or not.

Tauriel shook her head sadly. "You're not the only one to think like that."

Suddenly alert, Fili honed in on the hurt tone in her voice. "What happened?" He demanded roughly.

The she-elf shook her head and shrugged.

Fili glowered, temper rising. "Tell me, or I will sic Kili on you."

"Don't" It wasn't quite begging, but it was close.

Her words, her hurt, her worry all swirled around his mind until he settled on something uncomfortable. "Someone insulted you."

"Not outright." Tauriel denied the charge. "But I've been getting looks. Questions, such as whether Kili and I will live in the same house. What handfasting means. Not just the dwarves, but some of the human merchants as well."

Fili's eyes closed with regret. "KILI! Get down here!"

Tauriel's eyes widened, like she'd been betrayed.

"No. You stay." Fili demanded with the assurance of someone used to being obeyed. "Look. You're basically married. But dwarven traditions don't recognize handfasting. By Arda, I know I'd never even heard of it before. Men either apparently."

Bofur came into the room, hammer in hand. "The lad's outside now. Can I help?"

Fili nodded. "Tauriel's been getting comments about how she and Kili aren't really married."

"Well." Bofur looked embarrassed. "They're not."

Tauriel now crossed her arms, looking rather cross for an elf. "Handfasting is a fine and honored tradition. The giving and receiving of the Blue and Silver gift is beautiful!"

"For elves." Fili waved his hand dismissively. "Are you taking Kili to live in an Elven enclave?"

The she-elf opened her mouth, but couldn't think of a reply. Mutely, she shook her head negatively.

"If you live among the dwarves, then dwarven traditions might be the better way to go, lass." Bofur said, far more gently than Fili.

A bang on the kitchen door leading outside, had them all turning. Kili came in, trailing dirt from his boots. He stopped, seeing that all eyes were on him. Thinking fast, he knocked his thick boots against the wall, shaking loose the dirt. "Sorry." He muttered.

"Some are calling Tauriel's honor to question." Fili said.

It was as if something cold and deadly suddenly filled the room. Tauriel's eyes widened as she saw the deep pool of anger within Kili that burst into being. His teeth ground together audibly, while his hand settled on his knife. "Oh?"

"Seeing as how you two are living together, unmarried." Bofur seemed sad to impart that information.

"Who?" It sounded like a threat, rather than a question.

Tauriel looked at Kili, distressed. "This is not necessary. I don't care what anyone here says. We are handfasted."

Bofur nodded slowly. "What terms were those? Ten years together, either can walk away at any time unless there is a child. Then it just becomes a marriage?"

Fili shrugged. "To Men and Dwarves, that's not married."

"You agree with these people?" Kili's temper refocused on his older brother.

"Just explaining, and no I don't." Fili pointed back and forth between the two lovers. "I know your hearts. Only a blind idiot would miss it."

Slowly, painfully, Kili reeled in his considerable anger. While outwardly he was the more jovial of the two brothers, once riled, his killing temper more than was a match for Fili's.

"I'm courting her." Kili forced his hand away from his blade, flexing his fingers to ease the tension there. "I have a plan in place, by Spring."

Fili though, was thinking furiously. "I should have seen this sooner. Would have saved us all these hurt feelings. Look. Marry her now."

Kili glowered. "Spring. I have a plan!"

Bofur seemed embarrassed. "Might want to ask the lass, first."

"That's part of the courting!" Kili snarled. "You're ruining it!"

Tauriel looked disgusted. "None of this is necessary."

"Are you pregnant?" Fili asked, bluntly to the point.

The red-head hissed, looking affronted.

Fili continued, ignoring his brother's baleful looks. "If you get pregnant before Spring, some would question the child's right to inherit."

"Not the elves!" Kili protested, drawing a look of gratitude from Tauriel.

"Not living with the elves." Fili sounded far too calm. "Look. Do either of you want to walk away?"

The double look of shock and anger from both parties had him chuckling. "So get married now. Before we all move in together here." He pointed at his brother, who was about to protest. "You can still court her in the Spring."

Bofur grinned. "Handfasted first. Married second. Courting third. Why start doing things in the right order now? Avoid the problem, marry her in the Dwarf traditions. Shut all the whispers down."

Kili fell silent, his dark eyes seeking out her own gaze. She looked at him, unsure. "Marry me?" He asked.

She didn't even have to think about it, nodding. "I still say it's unnecessary."

Fili clapped his hands loudly together. "Grand! We have a lot to do today!"

"Today?" Tauriel asked, her throat suddenly dry.

The blond shrugged. "Well baby sister. We're set to move in to this house today. Unless you want to move into town until the marriage ceremony, then it's today."

Kili's eyes were wide with the implications. Then, he grinned fatuously. "Alright."

"Alright?" Tauriel stared at her love, feeling more than a bit rushed.

Bofur grinned at everyone equally. "Dwarven marriage ceremonies are not that huge a deal. You two could stand here and swear your troth to each other here and now and it'd be done."

The red head nodded slowly, relaxing as she realized it wasn't going to be a huge ceremony. In her mind she'd thought it would be full of traditions she knew nothing about.

Fili frowned sharply. "No. To stave off what Tauriel's been facing we need a few witnesses. Small party. Tonight, seven in the evening. Ale, venison, a fiddle, and a wedding."

Kili nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Don't have the ale or venison."

Bofur pointed at the dark-haired dwarf. "Go hunting. Bring back something good to throw over the spit. I'll take care of the ale."

Fili agreed readily. "I'll get the witnesses. I'm sure Dern and his wife would be happy to do the job."

Without another word, Bofur and Kili turned and headed out opposite doors. Tauriel looked from one exit to the other, blinking rather rapidly.

"Sister?"

Tauriel stepped toward the door Kili had just used.

"Sister?"

The red-head stopped as Fili caught her hand. "Let him hunt. We have things to do."

She nodded, still feeling unsteady. "What things ..." The she-elf paused, her green eyes focusing on him all of a sudden. "Sister?"

Fili blushed a bit. "If you'll have me. I know I've not been the most supportive. But ...only a fool would ignore what you and my brother have together." He gave her a charming grin, his dimples clear even beneath his beard and mustache. "Forgive me?"

Tauriel studied the young blond dwarf for a long moment, then decided to test him. "What are Dwarven True Names?"

Recognizing her ploy, and realizing that his honesty and veracity were on trial, Fili paused. "Oh sister, why that question?"

She started to pull away.

His hand tightened on her. He looked up, steadied himself with a deep breath. "Dwarven names are either Elvish or from the languages of Men." He said it with all the sobriety of a deeply held secret. "Our own names come from a dialect of Men from around the Blue Mountains."

Surprised, Tauriel stared, shocked by both the answer and the fact that he was telling her what she wanted to know.

Fili spread his hands. "Dwarven True Names, are secret. More so than even the Khuzdul language. Given by a parent, usually the father. These names are never shared, never given, and never written. The names we are called? Fili, Kili, Bofur, Balin ... these are not True Names."

"What about on tombs?" She asked, feeling on shaky ground.

"No, not even then." Fili shook his head.

Tauriel wasn't sure what to ask next, not really. "Does anyone else other than dwarves know they even exist?"

"Some things Gandalf has said makes me think he knows about our traditions. I'm sure that some Elvish scholars know. Men?" He sneered. "Maybe very few. Or none at all."

"Kili has not told me of this, or his True Name." She assured her love's older brother. "Nor will I ask." She promised.

"I don't think he told you, because truthfully it would not occur to him to do so." Fili frowned slightly. "Not until you two have children."

The thought of having Kili's child made her smile tenderly.

Fili blinked, unprepared for the unashamed emotion in her simple smile. He coughed and rubbed the back of his head. "You are a true wonder, Tauriel. And the biggest wonder, is how you came to love Kili of all dwarves."

"Anyone better?"

The blond shook his head and gave her a lopsided grin. "No." They shared a fond look, bound by the fact that they both loved the mischievous dark-haired dwarf more than anyone else alive.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	20. Invitations

Tauriel rushed out the side door, and nearly slammed into Kili as he stood there patiently. Waiting for her. He chuckled and took a step back to avoid a collision.

Unusually flustered, Tauriel pushed her long red hair behind her ears. Her emotional balance was harder to regain than her footing. Kili raised one eyebrow at her, obviously he was going to make her work for it.

"Tonight?" There. She managed not to sound upset, she hoped.

The dark-eyed dwarf shrugged deliberately, letting his grin widen. Tauriel swallowed quickly. She loved that grin, the one that meant he was teasing her or up to something. But not right now!

"You don't want to marry me?" He teased her.

The she-elf pursed her lips and shook her head. "You know that's not it. This ...this just is so fast."

"Fast." Kili savored the word, drawing it out slowly as if tasting the sound of it.

Tauriel's green eyes narrowed a bit.

"I seem to remember innocently shooting a bow and then being handed a certain gift. Boom. I'm married." Kili touched his left temple with one finger, then pointed at her.

The red-head sighed. "I was going to explain, but you'd broken your diet and then you were in so much distress."

Kili shuddered at the memory, still unable to face carrots without misgivings.

"And it was hand-fasted, not married." Tauriel continued.

The dark-haired dwarf turned and pinned her with a bold look. "Do you want to marry me?"

Drawing back, the love of his life gave him a doleful look. "You know that I do."

"Today, tonight, tomorrow?" Kili leaned in toward her. "You chose the time and place the first time. Now it's my turn. So. We get married, tonight."

"Kili ..."

"No." The dwarf laughed with delighted amusement. "Love, we are already joined by your customs. Tonight is for mine. Nothing changes between us. It's just a big party."

Appalled by his lack of understanding, Tauriel shook her head. "It's not just a party. It's a ceremony. One I know nothing about!"

Kili let his eyes go wide. "Oh! You want to know what to expect tonight? Ceremony details?"

The she-elf nodded, relieved.

The dark-eyed prince winked at her, shook his own head and put his hand over his mouth.

Tauriel stared, her stomach sinking.

Kili gave her an affectionate wave. "Just like when you told me about the Blue and Silver gift? So I could be prepared?"

"It is not the same thing!" Snapped the red-head in a flash of temper.

This only served to amuse Kili further. He threw back his head, laughing. Tauriel hissed slightly. He focused back in on her and sighed deeply, as if supremely happy. "I will give you everything I have. You have me, my heart and my soul. And I will give you the exact same amount of information you gave me before we became handfasted. Nothing."

Tauriel drew back in shock as he winked and actually walked away from her, laughing.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"He's gone hunting."

Fili glanced at Tauriel covertly, not sure of her mood or temper. Instead he looked over the baskets of breads and rolls. He tried to catch Teldu's eyes, but the young baker was ignoring him for other customers.

"He walked away from me. To go hunting." This time it was almost a whisper. And she sounded a bit lost.

The blond dwarf nodded, wishing his brother was here to deal with this. He raised his hand at Teldu. The dwarf-maiden let her blue eyes slide right over him as if he weren't there. Fili sighed helplessly.

"You are not even listening."

At this Fili's mouth tilted down into a half-frown. "Unfortunately, I am listening." He gestured widely around the shop, his outflung arm barely missing a human male. "But we have a baking emergency!"

The human looked askance at the shorter, but far more muscular and vital dwarf. He sniffed. But he moved enough so Fili coud see that Teldu was actually waiting on a human he recognized. Mirrenda. The Town Councilwoman turned and gave him a hard look. In return Fili gave her a full measure of his most charming smile, dimples and all.

"Master Fili Coppernose." She said dryly. "Acually, I'm glad to run into you. There is something I would like to discuss with you."

It took him a moment to connect his name with that which he'd purloined for himself. Coppernose was a damn sight far from being a direct descendent of Durin. So he was delayed in giving her a short nod of recognition.

"A baking emergency?" Teldu's voice dripped sarcasm.

Seizing the opportunity, the dwarf sidestepped the human councilwoman to focus in on something far more important to him at the moment. "We need a cake." Fili supplied quickly, before Teldu could pretend he didn't exist again. "A big one."

The young baker sighed and shrugged. "There are several on display. Hardly an emergency. Fool." She started to turn away.

"No." Fili stepped forward quickly, moving up beside Mirrenda at the counter and ignoring the other humans who squeaked out a token protest. "A wedding cake."

All eyes turned to him then. The blond dwarf made a large circle with both arms to indicate something round and big.

Teldu's spooky blue eyes clouded for a moment, before she straightened herself up to her full height, which wasn't terribly tall actually. "Da wouldn't have ...I mean, Cleadeth ...she hasn't ..."

"For her." Fili quickly pointed behind him at the tall she-elf who was still standing where he'd left her.

Mirrenda looked confused, as did the other humans. "I thought she was already married."

"Yes." Tauriel acknowledged. "Well, handfasted."

Fili looked smug and leaned against the counter, earning a glare from a slightly relieved looking apprentice baker. "Elf customs. Tonight, we're having a real wedding."

At this Tauriel's eyes sharpened and she turned them on a certain blond haired dwarven prince. "Real?"

"A dwarf wedding." Fili amended with a sheepish look. He turned to Teldu, all appeal and with his hands held up in surrender. "A big cake for a dwarf wedding."

Mirrenda's open face stilled for a moment, and then she nodded. "A dwarf wedding, only for dwarves then. Perhaps you could come by tomorrow to discuss an issue I'd ..."

Fili saw the human's expression and made a lightning fast decision. "No, not just for dwarves. Please come by the house. Ceremony to be at seven of the clock, but the party will last until ...well until the last dwarf, er or man is standing."

"Or elf." Tauriel spoke up snidely.

Fili laughed outright. "Oh no, it's your wedding night. You won't be standing." He said with a leer that caused Tauriel to blush heartily, drawing more than a few chuckles from those around them. Turning back to Teldu, the blond grinned outrageously.

"Your charm is wasted here." The baker told him with a dry expression.

"Charm is never wasted." Fili responded and drew a large circle in the air. "Make it a really BIG cake."

Teldu crossed her arms, looking horrified. "By seven tonight?"

The blond nodded slowly, dimples on display. "Well now, if you can't do it I suppose we'll ..."

"I never said I couldn't do it." Teldu interrupted. "But it won't be the most elaborate that I've ever decorated. It's not enough time."

"We can postpone the ceremony." Tauriel assured the baker.

Fili held up one hand in the she-elf's direction. "No we can't. Tonight. Seven. Best you can manage. Your reputation is definitely on the line." He winked at Teldu and turned away without waiting for a response.

Though he was pretty sure it was a sugar roll that hit him in the middle of his back as he exited the store.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Bofur squinted against the morning sun and then nodded as he saw Fili and Tauriel approaching. "Three kegs of ale, all set."

"Double it." Fili groaned melodramatically as he tossed some silver pieces at the other dwarf. "Add some wine."

Bofur caught the money, bemused. "Are we being invaded?"

Fili grimaced. "I sort of invited the humans."

"Which ones?" Bofur asked, his eyes going wide with surprise. Men? At a dwarven celebration?

"Uhm." Fili looked back at the store he'd just exited. "Well, there were a few at the bakers. Then there was the green grocer. And at the main market there were a few more."

Tauriel looked a bit bewildered. "I don't think he limited his invitations at all. I don't know how many are coming."

Bofur scratched his head, confused. "Er ...why?"

Fili ducked his head a moment, then jutted out his jaw. "Because I want Mirrenda and the council to strengthen the guards here. And the walls."

"So you invite them to my wedding, where you won't even tell me what I'm supposed to do or say?" The red-head protested with more than a little heat in her voice. "A wedding that I'm not even getting to plan?"

Bofur looked up the the pretty elf and made calming motions with his hands. "Brides never plan the weddings. Families do."

Shocked, Tauriel stared at him. "You're making that up."

"That's not'n the way the elves do it?" The toy-maker asked, surprised.

"No." Both Tauriel and Bofur spoke the same word at the same time, making Fili grin.

The she-elf put her hands on her hips, looking stern. "So even if I were a dwarf, I'd still have no say in my own wedding?"

"Nay. It'd be your'un ma and da." Bofur said this lightly, then went ashen. "Ah lass. I don't think I've asked. What about your family?"

Tauriel looked unconcerned, if solemn. "My parents were killed over two hundred years ago. The Mirkwood can be a dangerous place. I do have a brother and several cousins."

Bofur and Fili shared a look, obviously not wanting to pry and yet at the same time, nosy as hell. Fili broke first. "And they weren't upset with your leaving?"

"My brother lives further away, I sent him a message before we left the Mirkwood. My cousin isn't talking to me just now." Tauriel admitted.

Bofur stilled. "Because you married a dwarf." He winced.

Surprised, the she-elf shook her head. "Because I took a position as a Captain in the king's guard. And you're changing the subject. Why are we inviting the entire town to my wedding?"

Fili grimaced and scratched his chin absently as he tried to form his words very carefully. "This town will be overrun eventually, unless it's defended. But from what I can see the dwarves don't trust the humans and the same goes for the other way around."

Bofur nodded as he too considered the possibilities. "You mean we'un have to work together. Aye, we learned that lesson right quick back at ...the Mountain." He said circumspectly, leaving off the name of Erebor.

The blond dwarf pointed at Bofur to show he was on the right track. "Alliances. We can't stay separate any longer. Dwarves are strong, but we are a minority here. But most of these humans haven't seen battle, they don't know a thing about real defenses."

"I thought'n you were talking to Mirrenda about fortifying the walls of this town." Bofur said.

Fili's head nodded in agreement. "I was, I am ...and I'm hoping that she's agreeing with me. The esteemed councilwoman did say she wanted to discuss something with me. I'm sure it has to be about the wall."

"And all this has to take place at my wedding?" Tauriel sneered, then paled. "Wedding. I'm getting married!" She still seemd upset. "Or not!"

Bofur and Fili both paused, perhaps realizing they may be pushing the pretty elf too far. "Now lass. You want to get married, am I not right?"

Tauriel's eyes flashed a brilliant shade of green and her cheeks were tinted pink with a fine hot temper. "Not today." Sternly, she turned to leave.

Fili moved swiftly, jumping in front of her, watching as she stopped and crossed her arms defensively. "I'm not chaning my mind."

"Aw, you already did." The blond pointed out with perverse pleasure. "You agreed. Now you're changing that fine mind of yours."

Bofur jumped up on a covered barrell next to the shop, letting his booted feet dangle. He smiled sweetly at her. She gave him a wary look. "You love'n the lad. We all know that to be true."

She could hardly deny that charge. Reluctantly she nodded sharply. "But we're already together."

"Is it fair that you get your ceremony and Kili doesn't get one?" Fili asked, his voice placating and smooth.

"Neither of you has gotten songs, or celebrations, or cake." Bofur looked at Fili quickly. "Ye didn't forget the cake, did you now?"

The blond shook his head. "On order. Challenged Teldu, she'll pull out something grand."

"You bullied that poor girl!" Tauriel accused, pointing her finger at her love's older brother.

Fili took a deep breath, his smile disappearing. Tauriel watched him cautiously. "Honesty here, sister. By dwarven, and human, standards you two aren't really married. We're taking care of that. Tonight."

"That means nothing to me." Tauriel insisted.

"It does to Kili." The older brother let those words drop in heavily like a weight from a great height.

The she-elf shook her head, hoping to deny it.

But Fili was not to be denied. "Kili has plans to court you, you know that. He wouldn't do that ...if he actually FELT married."

Tauriel felt the sting of truth behind his words and she actually shivered.

"My brother." Fili grinned at the thought of the irrepressible younger dwarf. "He was audacious enough to fall in love with you. I don't even know if you understand. My uncle HATED elves. He would never have allowed this."

She caught her breath, holding it almost painfully.

"Uncle would have killed Kili before allowing such a match. And I would have died first, protecting my brother of course."

Bofur nodded sadly, pointing at Fili in emphasis of the lad's words.

"Kili didn't care." The older of the brothers continued. "He was on his way to tell uncle anyway when we were interrupted by small matters of invading armies, declarations of war, and then orcs."

"A lot of orcs." The toy-maker pointed out in great sorrow. "Times a lot more orcs and goblins and trolls."

"I love him too." Tauriel stated simply.

Fili nodded, the ends of his mouth moving into a smile. "Left your kin and your king. I have no doubt you're in love."

Bofur couldn't contain himself any longer, he jumped down off the barrell perch. He planted himself almost pugnatiously in front of the red-headed elf. "You love him. He loves you. Marry the boy!"

"I did!" She hissed, not even bothering to explain about handfasting again.

"Marry him again!" Bofur insisted. "Make it legal for three races and not just one!"

Tauriel looked toward the sky and the males knew they'd won. They shared a look of triumph until she glanced back down at them and they managed to look almost humble.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	21. Judgement

Tauriel sniffed the air as she walked back into the kitchen in what she supposed was her new home. They were moving in today. They were having guests over today.

She was getting married today.

She looked around the kitchen, expecting a huge mess. When the she had left to buy some last minute items, Fili and Bofur had been about to start cooking the wedding dinner.

Her eyebrows rose with surprise. There were masses of cleaned and prepared vegetables roughly chopped for roasting. There were covered bowls that when she peeked inside, held rising dough. Nothing seemed out of place or sloppy.

Bofur was stirring a large pot with some sort of simmering sauce. And her mouth nearly fell open to see Fili putting cookies on a sheet for baking in the house's brick oven.

"Lad come back with a nice big stag?" Bofur hummed to himself, adding a few more herbs to his sauce.

Tauriel shook her head, bemused by the sight of warriors looking so ...domesticated. "He's out there practically crowing. Found a large boar fattening up for the winter. Kili is cleaning it now."

Fili's head snapped up and a fatuous grin spread over his face. "Delicious!"

Bofur cursed, hanging his head as he pulled his sauce off the fire with some thick towels to protect his hands. "This is meant'n to be for venison." He mourned. "Now'n I have to start over."

Fili didn't miss the she-elf's shocked look and his grin only grew. "I told you. Male dwarves cook."

The red-head nodded, still bemused. "I thought you meant camp stews and things like that." She was looking at the cookies most especially.

The blond shrugged. "Mam didn't cook much. And uncle, well he could burn toast well enough. Mind you, this is not fancy cooking. Plain fare, but hearty."

Bofur laughed in agreement. "Not like'n what we was fed in Rivendell."

Fili shrugged with a sly grin. "It was learn how to cook or starve." He looked at the she-elf about to become his brother's wife. "You find the potatoes?"

Tauriel mutely held up the large bag as if it weighed nothing. Fili grinned and pointed at the wash bin. "Those need to be cleaned, peeled and quartered."

"Cleadeth can do that." Nurbera announced her presence as she entered the kitchen. "Tauriel and I have something we need to take care of."

Stunned, the red-head stared at the dwarrowdam. "We do?"

The younger female dwarf made no protest about cleaning potatoes. After all, this meant being in the kitchen with an admiring male. She glanced at Fili and then over at Bofur. Two males. She smiled becomingly.

Nurbera made motions for the she-elf to follow her, turning to head out of the kitchen and obviously used to being obeyed. Tauriel didn't hesitate, it was either this or peel potatoes with the dwarves that had been teasing her all morning.

Tauriel strode into the main room, noting that while barren of a lot of furniture, it was both spacious and clean. But not empty. The red-head stopped, staring.

Three dwarves unknown to her were standing there. All three were considerably older, with two having salt and pepper colored beards, and the last one completely gray. Each of the three was staring at her, as if mentally weighing her worth. None were smiling.

Nurbera wiped her hands on her dress, as if nervous. "Tauriel, these are the other dwarrowdams of the area. It is an honor they are showing you by attending today."

The eldest of the dwarves snorted slightly, as if she disagreed with Nurbera's words. "Huakil." She nodded sternly, then pointed to the other two matrons. "Tah and Rhaet."

Tauriel wasn't sure what was going on, but felt she was being judged. First off, she was shocked to hear that these three were indeed female. They looked just like some of the male dwarves she'd met. But glancing furitively at Nurbera's nervous features, she realized this was important. So she narrowed her eyes and memorized the names, making sure she knew the taller one was Tah and the one with the braids in her beard was Rhaet. "It is an honor to meet you."

Huakil snorted again. Tauriel's jaw tightened at the sound.

The three dwarrowdams circled around her, looking the tall she-elf over from top to bottom.

"Her hips are too narrow." Rhaet stated with disdain.

"No chest to speak of." Tah had a go next.

Tauriel's jaw clenched. At this rate she'd have an aching head by the time this meeting was over.

"No beard, of course." This was Rhaet's turn, obviously. "And her nose is so thin." She actually shuddered.

"No meat on her, nothing to grab onto." Tah announced dryly. "Bouncing on bones is never fun. The poor lad."

The red head drew in a long breath, hoping to calm herself down. Losing her temper now could be disasterous.

"This lad, Kili? Must have no pride." Rhaet again.

"An idiot." Tah agreed. "Blind foolishness."

Tauriel snapped. "I don't care what you think of me, but you will not put Kili's name in your foul mouths again or I might separate your viperish tongues from your bearded heads."

Huakil snorted again, but this time it lasted longer, and turned into a loud bray of a laugh. She looked at Nurbera, who was looking sheepishly pleased. "I wouldn't have credited it." She said, her voice raspy.

Rhaet smiled and thumped Tah on the back. "An elf with a temper. I'd heard that your kind were without strong emotions."

"You heard wrong." Tauriel's voice sounded a bit lost as she looked from one grinning, and bearded, female to another.

"I also heard you were already wed by elvish standards." Huakil said, her voice still a deep rasp, but much warmer now.

Tauriel nodded. "But not by dwarvish standards. We're taking care of that tonight."

"Ye pregnant?" Tah asked, looking almost hopeful.

The she-elf drew herself up proudly, stunned to be asked so personal a question by strangers.

Rhaet pursed her lips. "Looks like not. Ye be trying though, right lass?"

A pretty pink color graced the she-elf's cheeks and all three of the elder dwarrowdams chuckled knowingly.

"Cradles are usually handed down by the elder dwarrowdams in each community." Huakil announced with a twinkle in her still bright eyes. "What we give to you, we expect to be passed down to new brides."

Shocked, Tauriel nodded automatically. They were giving her cradles? "Isn't it a bit soon?"

Nurbera shook her head. "Dwarven tradition. These are hand-carved, and often have been in the same communities for many generations."

That was when the red-headed elf realized that these woman were going to accept her as Kili's spouse. And the mother of his children. She straightened and gave the three females a deep bow of gratitude. "I promise to gift the cradles to the next bride."

The three dwarrowdams all smiled, relieved that their offer was being recognized for the important gesture that it was.

Rhaet smiled, stroking the braids in her beard. "Well, not if they're still being used, of course. But hopefully they'll only be used one at a time."

At this, Tah frowned. "Do elves have twin babies?" She asked curiously.

The red-head smiled. "Yes, but not often. And it does not run in my family."

"You be wanting a nice large family though?" Huakil probed nosily, smiling behind her steel gray beard.

Tauriel nodded, relaxing a bit for the first time since this morning.

Tah beamed at the pretty she-elf. "I myself had five. Strapping boys, fine dwarves."

Rhaet frowned. "Don't be worried, though. Most dwarves have between two and three children." She looked pointedly at Tah, as if warning her not to scare the new bride.

But Tauriel wasn't scared. "I was hoping for six or seven." She admitted. "Elven families usually run larger."

All the other dwarrowdams stared at her. Finally Nurbera looked at the elder females and coughed to clear her throat. "She'll need the cradles a bit longer than usual." She said, her expression deadpan.

All the dwarrowdams then errupted into mirth and laughter, not to mention some ribald suggestions on how to accomplish getting pregnant so many times.

Finally Huakil clapped her hands sharply. "Well, lass. Are ye ready for tonight?"

Tauriel stilled, hope blossoming deep inside. "No. No, I'm not. I am not clear on what I need to do or say. Kili and the others have not been very forthcoming." She understated that a bit, and quashed any qualms she might have about sneaking around to get the answers she wanted.

Tah nodded at her, leaning back and giving the red-head another good going over. "Is that what you're going to look like tonight?"

The she-elf drew back, uncertain. "I was going to change. But I didn't bring fancy clothing with me."

Rhaet squinted at her and pursed her lips. "You look too elven."

"I am an elf." Tauriel pointed out the obvious, and the unchangeable.

Nurbera cocked her head to one side and smiled. "We need to braid your hair."

Tauriel's hands went to the long, straight fall of her red hair. "I have braids." And it was true, she had two thin braids at her temples, pulled back with the silver hair clasp that Kili had gifted to her as his handfasting present.

"Dwarven braids for tonight." Rhaet announced firmly, the other dwarrowdams nodded in agreement. "The hair clasp ..."

"Was a gift from Kili." Tauriel's lips firmed stubbornly. "I will not be parted from it." Her green eyes flashed with intensity. She meant what she said.

A bit taken aback by the she-elf's tone, the dwarrowdams all looked at each other. Finally, Huakil nodded. "It stays then, but do you object to braiding your hair dwarven style tonight?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili walked into the kitchen whistling. He winked over at Bofur. "The boar is cleaned, cleaved and spitted. Ready for the spices and the sauce."

The older of the three dwarves nodded. "Fire hot enough yet?"

Kili shook his head, thinking about the great outdoor fire pit they'd cleared out in preparation. "Nearly. Give it another quarter hour or so. Just enough time to get the beast ready to roast."

Bofur grinned, grabbing his sauce and a large brush. "This is going to be delicious!"

Kili walked over to the washing bin to clean up a bit. Dressing out the large boar had been messy work, not to mention hot and sweaty work as well. He looked over at Cleadeth, who was cutting up the now peeled potatoes. "Welcome lass."

"Cleadeth was telling me about how pretty the town is in the spring." Fili said, trying hard to keep his tone even and not sound bored to death.

Kili could read his brother well, and grinned. "Fili loves spring, it's his favorite season."

Cleadeth smiled becomingly as Fili shot his younger brother a foul look. "See if you get any cookies now."

"Cookies?" Kili's whole body turned, his wet hands dripping water onto the floorboards. His grin turned sloppily happy. "Ah brother."

Fili looked down at his vegetables that he was oiling and spicing. "Who says they're for you?"

Kili wouldn't be detered. He walked over to the brick oven and Fili took a handtowel and rolled it quickly, swatting at his younger sibling's hands to keep him from opening the oven door. "No!"

Cleadeth watched all this, unsure. "They're only cookies." She protested, wondering how she'd lost the focus and the attention so quickly. She wasn't used to being ignored by males.

Fili grinned at the mock hurt on Kili's face as he sniffed the air around the brick oven. This was a family thing. Long ago, their Uncle Thorin had arrived home after a short trip and had brought an unexpected treat. Raisin cookies. They'd been a gift to him, but Thorin didn't like raisins. So he'd tossed them to his nephews when he arrived at their home.

They were a completely new experience for the two boys. Kili, being very young, had loved the cookies. Loved them. And they had been the first gift that Thorin had actually ever given the younger of the two brothers. Thereafter Kili had begged and pleaded and cried and demanded cookies. But Thorin didn't have any use or time for the youngster. Now Fili knew that their uncle hadn't known what to do for two fatherless young dwarves, especially the baby of the family. It had been far easier for him to deal with the older Fili and train him up. Kili had been too young at the time.

Seeing Thorin train Fili and not him, had been hard on the younger of the brothers. And Dis, well back then she'd been grieving too. More wont to cuddle her youngest rather than anything else. Besides which, their fine mother was a poor baker. So Fili had snuck around the other dwarrowdams until they demanded what he was after. After explaining, they'd been happy to show him what to do. Thus, it was Fili who had made the cookies and had then lied to Kili, telling them that their uncle had sent them for the younger boy.

Eventually things changed. Kili had grown and Thorin had begun training him as well. The cookies had stopped, until Kili caught a bad cold from a stunt that Fili had planned and had gone awry. That's when the younger brother begged for those cookies, and revealed he'd always known who had baked them for him in the first place.

"I can make a great spice cookie." Cleadeth mentioned with false modesty, acting oh-so casual.

Neither brother looked in her direction. Kili leaned against the brick oven, staring intently at the door. "How much longer?" He whined, like he had for years.

Fili laughed. "Five minutes."

Kili groaned. "Too long." He lightly kicked the brick wall with impatience.

A knock at the door drew every eye, except Kili's. He was still staring at the oven. Bofur went to answer the side door, calling back to the younger dwarf. "Don't drool, it's unseemly, lad."

Kili growled out a foul word. "How much longer?"

But when the human male entered the kitchen, even Kili's attention was snagged. It was the young guard from when they'd first arrived, the one who hadn't been thrilled about having new dwarves in the town.

Fili made a motion at Cleadeth, and Kili moved in front of her. She was on the far side of the kitchen from both doors, the one leading to the outside and the other leading into the main rooms.

"What business do you have here?" Fili asked imperiously.

The young male looked down at his boots and then over at the blond dwarf. "My father wanted to thank you for inviting us to the wedding."

Kili's nostrils flared. He hadn't known humans had been invited tonight. His dark eyes flew to his brother, but he held his tongue.

"I'm Deven, by the way." The youngster thumped his own chest, wearing his guard uniform. "Dad said he wasn't sure what gift would be appropriate."

Bofur stayed where he was by the door, the boy's back to him. He glanced at Fili over Deven's shoulder and shrugged. How this boy was supposed to be a town guard he didn't know. Who let a basic stranger stand at their back?

Fili shrugged, focusing on the question at hand. "What would you give at a human wedding?"

Deven shrugged as well, looking uncomfortable as he shifted his weight. "Well, Dad said that he knew you'd ordered ale for tonight. So he sent me and my brothers over with two more kegs as our gift."

Kili's face brightened. Suddenly he wasn't as opposed to having humans at his wedding. "Nice!" He rubbed his hands together.

Fili nodded, pleasantly surprised. "Please thank your da for us."

Deven nodded, and looked down at his feet.

After a lengthy moment, Fili looked at Kili, who shrugged. Finally the blond dwarf cleared his throat. "Was there something else?"

Deven blushed, startling all the dwarves. Finally the human youth shrugged. "They said that you took out those orcs like they was nothing. That you could really fight."

All three male dwarves relaxed, hearing the yearning note in the young human's voice. They'd all been there once, wanting to hear about fighting from those who'd been there. Fili shot his brother a look. "Rescue the cookies."

Kili startled and then gave a little whine as he grabbed some thick towels before he pulled his precious cookies from the oven. They were perfect and golden brown. Looking like he was in bliss, the dark-eyed dwarf sniffed their aroma deeply.

"They need to cool." Fili warned.

"No they don't." Kili huffed, pulling one up with his fingers and then bouncing it back and forth between his hands and blowing on it.

Deven actually chuckled, watching cautiously.

Kili stuffed the still hot cookie into his mouth, making strange faces as he attempted to chew something that hadn't cooled down enough yet.

Fili pointed at a chair and then at Deven. "You wear your belt too tight, your scabbard isn't oiled properly, and you have let Bofur stand at your back this entire conversation."

The young guard blushed hotly, embarrassed. But he took the chair indicated. "How did you take on so many orcs?" He asked, his voice low and deferential.

"He had help." Kili spoke, crumbs falling from his lips only to be caught in his hands and stuffed back into his full mouth.

"Told you they needed to cool down." Fili snapped affectionately.

"What kind of help?" Deven looked so eager to know.

Fili grinned. "The arrow kind. My brother and Tauriel killed two straight out with archery. And I took one in the head with a dagger. Come in sudden-like and cut down or disable as many as you can, it's demoralizing. Even to orcs. Instills fear."

"Took one in the head?" Bofur chuckled, recalling the fight. "Embedded it more like, looked like the damned thing had sprouted a horn in the middle of his'n forehead."

Deven's eyes widened at the thought of throwing a dagger with such accuracy and force.

"Never underestimate surprise as a weapon, lad." Bofur added. He held up the bucket with his sauce. "I'm going to paint the beast and get him over the flames."

Cleadeth looked over at the human male, who had eyes for no one but Fili. This wasn't the way she'd thought the day would go. The handsome blond dwarf was supposed to be paying attention to her! Not talking battle strategies with humans!

After that, it only got worse. Deven's younger brothers had obviously been instructed by Bofur to bring in the kegs of ale. But when they heard what Fili was saying, they too pulled up chairs, eager to hear about real battles.

But it wasn't until the males started pointing out and showing off scars from various fights that Cleadeth admitted she'd had enough. Huffy now, she turned back to the potatoes. If Fili wanted to court her after this, he was going to have to WORK for it. She sniffed loftily.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili walked into the main room and stopped, staring. His usual smile with delight.

Tauriel caught sight of him immediately. Rumpled and dirty and sweaty though he was, he was exactly what she needed. Nerves and uncertainties faded into the background, even as the dwarrowdams circled her, making suggestions on how to braid her hair the best.

"Love? You're cheating." He nodded toward the four female dwarves, knowing that they'd share with her what was expected from her tonight.

The red-head did not deny the charge, but nodded toward his hand.

Kili whipped the last cookie behind his back and winked at her. "Nothing."

The she-elf gave him a soft smile. "Just as long as it's not upsetting your stomach. Not tonight."

Nurbera leaned over and whispered to the other dwarrowdams, more than likely explaining about Kili's recuperation.

"I'm sure a cookie or two won't hurt." Rhaet murmered with a smile toward the dark-haired young male.

Tauriel sniffed and shook her head. "I doubt he stopped at two." She said affectionately.

Kili grinned at his love and admitted nothing. He quickly introduced himself to the new dwarrowdams, his usual charming self. Those fine dwarven ladies all smiled knowingly at him, shooting amused glances from him to his new bride.

After chatting for several moments, Kili wrinkled his nose. "I'm heading out to bathe. Wouldn't do to knock over the guests tonight with my stench."

The she-elf looked at him, noting that he really did need a bath after this morning's hunt. "Outside? It's not cold out, but the weather is changing."

"Fili won't lend me any room in the kitchen to heat up bath water and the boar is roasting in the outside fire pit." Kili shrugged, clearly unbothered about bathing outside.

Tah made shooing motions at him. "Off with ye then. Leave us to help the bride get beautiful."

Kili stopped at that, flashing a brilliant grin. "Not possible. She's aleady beautiful. Make her any more so, and my heart would burst."

The dwarrowdams all smiled and nodded at the young male so obviously smitten with his bride. They shooed him away toward the main entrance to the house with jokes and teasing about the coming evening.

It wasn't until Kili opened the door that he realized that someone was on the front porch, getting ready to knock. A human someone. He nodded toward Mirrenda, one of the towncouncil members, and someone that they'd saved from orcs.

The dwarrowdams all settled into stoic expressions, all hints at their earlier humor vanishing. Tauriel looked around at them in surprise.

Uneasy by such regard, with all eyes on her, Mirrenda gave a stiff smile of greeting. "Your brother invited us, well me. Well ..."

Kili smiled with good nature friendliness. "And you are welcome, but a bit early yet."

Mirrenda blushed like a young girl, when she was clearly a matron and possibly even a grandparent. She held up a box. "I have a gift for the bride. I wasn't sure of the traditions you all have. But I wanted to show respect, but also a thank you for saving my life."

Subtle relaxation in the dwarves at the human's words. Kili looked back and forth between the dwarrowdams and his visitor. He knew that his race was secretive and select. He grinned mischievously, making Tauriel's back stiffen warily.

"Mirrenda? Do you know these fine ladies?" He then proceeded to introduce them.

Who was more shocked, Tauriel couldn't say. The dwarves at being introduced to someone they'd seen but barely talked to for years. Or the human, for realizing that persons she'd grown up knowing were, in fact, actually female.

Huakil watched until Mirrenda was speaking with Nurbera before she reached out and struck Kili's hip with quite a bit of force for someone of her age.

Kili looked unrepentent as he shrugged. "My brother is trying to convince her to strengthening the walls and the guards around here. A little trust with neighbors will go a long way."

The elder dwarrowdam narrowed her eyes on him. "Hamnar Coppernose's son? What does he know of matters such as this?"

Startled, Kili lost his smile. He gave a weak chuckle and shrugged, unable to explain that Fili was well versed in 'matters such as this' raised as he had been to be a prince by their uncle.

"The brothers know a lot more about battle than you might credit." Tauriel slid into the conversation at just the right moment.

Tah gave Kili a long look. "We know they know enough about battle to get sorely wounded." She sniffed.

Kili stiffened.

The red-head shook her head. "You don't know the count of the enemy, nor how many both brothers slew before being overwhelmed. It was a hard battle."

Huakil watched the she-elf carefully, considering the words given. And the words left unsaid. She knew something wasn't quite right. She'd known Hamnar Coppernose for many years, and he had never mentioned children. But she also knew Dern. If that fine dwarf had a reason to accept these two, she would so trust. The fact that there was a secret here didn't bother her. Dwarves were used to secrets, it was their way of life. "Ladies."

The dwarrowdams settled down as Mirrenda looked around the room curiously. "This place will do nicely with more life in it."

Kili grinned and decided now was as good a time as any to make his escape. He made his excuses and slipped out the front door.

Mirrenda relaxed a bit, now that the male had left. She smiled wanly. "Dwarves don't consider it a bit of ill luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding?"

Startled, the dwarrowdams shook their heads. "Humans do?"

The human woman nodded and looked at Tauriel. The she-elf shrugged. "No."

"Why is it bad luck?" Tah asked, her curiousity overcoming her usual retinence around outsiders.

Mirrenda gave a small laugh and shrugged. "I don't actually know, it's just tradition."

"We ring bells during the ceremony." Rhaet offered. "To keep evil thoughts and spirits away from new couples."

Tauriel blinked, another new custom. "Really?"

The human matron smiled. "In the west, I heard that they break a glass. How many pieces it shatters into is supposed to indicate how many years of bliss the couple will have."

Huakil snorted with amusement. "It'd have to be a big glass, dwarves live longer than humans."

Tah laughed outright. "There's not a big enough piece of glass for an Elven wedding then, considering how long they live."

And there the laughter faded, as each woman remembered that Tauriel would far outlive her groom. Suddenly the dwarrowdams each secretly hoped that the pretty she-elf would get the six or seven children she was hoping for. In the end, it would be the only comfort she could look forward to.

Awkwardly, Mirrenda handed the red-headed elf a box. "Here, this is for you."

Nurbera tried to lighten the mood. "Do humans only give a gift to the brides?"

"No." Mirrenda smiled. "This is really for Kili anyway, I guess you could say. Go ahead and open it now, it's for tonight. Later tonight."

Curious, Tauriel opened the box and caught her breath. The silk and lace confection was gorgeous. She drew out the sheer white gown with a smile. "This is too much." The red-head told the human.

"Not when you consider you all saved my life, and many of my neighbors. Besides, I'm hoping to talk Fili into helping us redesign our town defenses." Mirrenda seemed happy to see the elf's appreciation of her gift.

Tauriel held the gown up to herself. It had clearly been made for someone of a shorter stature. But the length was still becoming.

Rhaet looked at the material and laughed. "That won't keep you warm." She teased with a sly look of humor.

Huakil snorted. "Sure it will. It will keep Kili close, he'll warm her up just fine."

Tauriel looked around the room. How had her life come to this? For six hundred years she had been content with her life, for the most part. Then meet a handsome, dark-eyed, laughing rogue of a dwarf in a forest and life suddenly changed.

Now here she was, with stange persons and strange customs and in a different land. Not an elf or a contemplation pool in sight. She pulled the sheer gown to her chest and looked at the laughing and teasing females around her.

Who needed a contemplation pool anyway?

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	22. Ringing

Fili eyed his younger brother with something akin to pride. The dark-haired dwarf was dressed in his finest, the dark linen a compliment to the supple leathers embossed with flecks of gold and silver. He raised one eyebrow. "You look ..." His voice trailed off.

"Handsome? Dashing? Irresistable?" Kili supplied with a sly wink.

The blond shook his head, pretending to inspect his brother. "Half-way clean at least."

Kili pretended a pout, but couldn't hold back his grin of happiness. "I'm getting married today."

"Not if she comes to her senses." Fili rejoined and headed toward the main part of the house. "Dern offered the loan of extra tables and chairs for tonight. He should be here soon. And aren't you dressed a bit early?"

The younger sibling shook out his hands even as he followed Fili. "Do we have to wait? Tauriel and I could marry each other and run off. You and Bofur could have a big party. Happy endings."

Laughing, Fili shook his head as both brothers entered the main part of the house.

Kili grinned like a fool when he spied Tauriel still with Mirrenda and the dwarrowdams. She looked so beautiful, all creamy skin and shiny and ...and ...tight lips? It dawned on him that she didn't look happy. Slowly his grin faded to a wide smile. The she-elf frowned at him. Kili's smile slipped further to slightly upturned lips. Her green eyes narrowed dangerously upon him. Uh oh. His smile disappeared altogether.

Fili nudged him sharply in the ribs. "What did you do?" He whispered.

"Nothing." Kili shook his head, mystified.

Nurbera cleared her throat, drawing the boy's attention. The youngest of the dwarrowdams, gave a them a knowing look. And it didn't look friendly. "So. Letting your bride enter the ceremony without any warning or preparation?"

Kili's back stiffened in alarm, his dark-eyes widening. "She didn't warn me!" He offered the excuse in consternation.

"We were alone. You and me. Not a house full of guests to be humiliated in front of." Tauriel snapped, her usually rich voice sharp.

Fili winced and side-stepped away from the target of the ladies' ire. He ignored his younger brother's quick look of panic and betrayal, not even bothering to feel guilty.

"Well?" The gray-bearded dwarrowdam demanded a further explanation. Kili thought she'd been introduced as Huakil.

His mind racing, and lighting upon nothing that would help him, he moved directly to surrender. "I'm sorry?"

Tauriel hissed with a sharp motion of her head that reminded him unpleasantly of a snake preparing to strike.

Kili frowned, holding up his hands placating. "There's nothing that would humilate you, I promise. Just some vows, they're not scripted. Simple."

"Did you warn her not to stand next the wedding bell?" Nurbera asked with faked honey sweetness.

"Er ..." Kili closed his eyes in misery, he had forgotten about that. Mentally he kicked himself.

Huakil's rasping voice was next. "Did you think to remind her to put out the symbolic foods to bless the union?"

Kili looked at his brother for help. Fili winced and nodded. "I have it ready." He admitted reluctantly.

"Something sour to symbolize that all marriages have to work together even in tough times?" Nurbera pressed.

Fili nodded. "Lemons. I bought lemons for sour." Kili pointed to his brother, nodding in agreement.

"Hmph." The tallest of the dwarrowdams, Tah, snorted. "And how about for salt, to show that there will be tears?"

"Salt." Fili announced.

"That's what I'm asking!" Snapped the matronly dwarf.

"No, I mean it's salt. A bowl of salt." The blond blushed slightly. "Salt is ...well, rather salty."

Nurbera sniffed, turning her nose up at the two. "That's original." She said sarcastically.

Fili and Kili both blushed. The older brother anticipated the next question and rushed to answer. "For bitter I have thistles." He gave a weak smile.

Tauriel still looked furious. Kili kept one eye on her, and the other on the other ladies.

Mirrenda looked a bit lost. "Bitter, sour and salty? You make marriage sound awful."

Nurbera smiled at the human woman. "The fourth symbol would be sweet. And it's the largest presentation at the ceremony." She peered disapprovingly over at Fili. "And my daughter tells me that you ordered a very large cake this morning, giving her no time to decorate properly."

Mirrenda startled heavily, her jaw dropping. "Your ...daughter?" Her mind was obviously racing. "Teldu is your ...daughter?"

The dwarrowdams all looked at each other wide-eyed. They weren't used to speaking with the humans in town except when doing business. Frankly, they'd forgotten to watch their tongues while so ill tempered. Nurbera gave a weak smile, though she wasn't happy with her slip of the tongue.

The older human female shook her head in wonder. "I've known Teldu as the baker's apprentice my whole life. She's older than I am, and I thought she was a lad this whole time."

"Well, she's just barely more than a child." Tah whispered. "Only seventy-four."

Mirrenda blinked, unused to having someone so old be considered so very young instead. "No wonder. I always thought he was too pretty for a lad." She smiled weakly. "I mean she."

Nurbera looked both pleased and embarrassed at the same time.

Huakil cleared her throat, her raspy voice commanding attention. "Aren't you boys forgetting something essential?"

Fili and Kili looked at each other, both of them completely at a loss. The blond shrugged and his brother frowned and scratched his head.

Tauriel hissed. "So, you were going to give me a ring and stand there and laugh at me when I didn't have one ready to give you?"

Kili's expression went stone still. Ring? Oh damn. "I wasn't going to laugh." He winced at the weak reply even as he said it.

Tauriel moved swiftly toward the stairs, turning to give him a hurt look, her green eyes flashing. "I think I'll adopt the human's custom today. I don't want to see you before the wedding. And you'll be damned lucky if you see me AT the wedding!"

Kili watched her storm upstairs, not losing an ounce of grace in her roaring temper. He groaned, and then made to follow her upstairs.

Fili held up a hand. "You might want to give her a few minutes."

Kili ignored the well-meaning advice and took the stairs two at a time.

The blond sighed heavily, turning he suddenly realized that he'd been left behind. With four pissed off dwarrowdams and a human. All were staring at him. None were smiling.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili eyed the closed door with trepidation. His chest felt tight, but he forced himself to take a deep cleansing breath and slowly opened the door. His heart sank as he saw his love curled up on the bed. Her back was to him, the long fall of her red hair trailing behind her and falling carelessly in a heap from the bed onto the floorboards.

"I wanted to slam the door." She whispered.

A bit nonplussed by her words, Kili looked back at the door in question. "Why didn't you, then?"

"It's not something elves do. Ill mannered." Tauriel still didn't turn, he was left staring at her back.

Kili solved that by reaching over and slamming the door hard enough to rattle the frame and cause a slight echo down the hallway.

Startled, Tauriel sat up, looking at him a bit wild-eyed.

"They'll think you did it." He gave her a sad smile, then he pointed at the bed. "It's not large enough."

Tauriel stretched out her feet, and her toes grazed the footboard even sitting as she was. "You said you'd make us a new one."

"Bought the supplies. But ...well, the wedding took over." He rubbed the back of his head sadly. "I'm sorry."

The she-elf ducked her head, unable to meet his gaze. "You're right, I didn't warn you about the handfasting."

"What if I'd not had a gift on me?" He asked, having wanted to know for a long time.

Tauriel shook her head. "It could have been a poem or a song, a flower, or a lock of your hair. The fact that you had something silver on you was pure luck."

"Or fate." Kili gave her a warm look. "But it doesn't explain why you sprang it on me like that."

"I needed you off-balance." Tauriel admitted, looking somewhere near his feet. "I didn't want you to say no."

Shocked, Kili's eyes widened. He felt touched and humbled. "Never. I've loved you forever."

"You're a prince. I'm ...not anywhere near royal."

Giving her the gift of honesty, Kili winced. "My uncle would never have allowed the match." He admitted. "But more because you're an Elf, not because of your rank."

"I'm sorry about Thorin." She said softly. "I'm not sure I really told you that before. I know you loved him."

"Deeply." Kili admitted. "Still, I would have fought him to be able to hold you. I just, never thought you returned my feelings."

She choked on her laugh. "We're a pair." Bright green eyes looked up at him. "Is this a salt moment?"

Kili chuckled and shook his head. "We're not crying. I think it's more of a lemon moment. Sour."

Tauriel nodded. "I have a ring of my father's. It'll have to be sized for you, but I can gift it to you."

Kili's stomach rolled suddenly. "You don't have to do that."

The love of his life looked up at him, her eyes warm and welcoming now, all hint of temper gone. "I can think of nothing I would like to do more."

Humbled beyond all reason, Kili nodded around the lump in his throat. "I love you, my life, my heart."

She held out one elegant hand to him. He crossed to her, leaning in to give, and receive, a kiss. Nothing heated. This one was beyond sweet.

A tentative knock on the door had both looking up. Nurbera peeked inside, and appeared relieved to see them together. She smiled. "Forgive me. But if we're having a wedding today, we need to get the bride ready."

Kili nodded and turned back to smile at Tauriel. "Just, don't go near the wedding bell today. It'll be in the center of the room, just ...sort of go around it."

She gave him a questioning nod, unsure. "Why?"

"That's where all the batchelors will be." Kili grinned cheekily. "Unmarried females should just steer clear, trust me."

Tauriel laughed weakly. "Trust you?"

Kili leaned in and kissed her again before managing to tear himself away. He stopped at the door, letting Nurbera move out the way. The dark-haired dwarf looked back at her. "Trust me. Everything will be perfect."

Kili walked down the stairs, passing the females all heading up. He smiled at them all, they just about turned their noses up at him. He reached Fili at the bottom of the stairs and blew out a relieved breath.

"Wedding on?" The blond asked, stroking the ends of his mustache in a nervous mannerism.

Kili nodded.

"Forgot to get a ring, didn't you?"

Kili nodded again.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili leaned on the shovel handle, looking disgusted. "How deeply did we bury this chest?"

"This one?" Kili pretended to think about it, then shrugged meekly. His brother's eyes narrowed and the younger brother smiled, deciding meek wasn't a good look for him anyway.

The blond brother felt his hair slide forward and stick to the side of his face with sweat. He swiped at it with his forearm, leaving a trail of dirt and grime. "It's hot in here." He complained.

"Really?" Kili acted surprised, he was better at that than he'd been at playing meek. "It feels nice to me."

Fili growled sourly. "That's because I'm doing all the work. Tell me again why I'm doing all the damned work?"

The younger dwarf shook his head. "I'm all clean and pretty for my wedding already." A sudden grin spread over his face. "And you volunteered."

"That's when I thought the rings were in the first chest I dug up!" Fili sputtered, taking the shovel and stabbing it into the hard ground. "Why did we break up our treasure into differents spots?"

Kili looked at his fingernails, pleased that he'd been able to get the blood from the boar he'd hunted earlier out from underneath. "Should I buff my nails do you think?"

Fili gritted his teeth. "I'll buff you in the head with this shovel in a minute."

"Oooh! Threats." The younger of the two brothers jibed. "You don't worry me."

"No?" Fili's head snapped up, his eyes flashing with irritation.

Kili tilted his head to the side, never losing his grin. "No. And I'd love to see you explain any head wounds to Tauriel."

The blond stilled, sighing deeply. "Damn it." His temper riled, he delved deep with the shovel once more, bringing up a large quantity of dirt. He eyed his pristine brother.

Kili wisely backed up a step, holding up his hands. "Wedding." He reminded the blond.

Fili tossed the dirt onto his waste pile, digging the shovel into the hollowed out area once more. "When we purchased old Coppernose's property, do you remember Dern calling it a 'little hole in the ground'?"

The dark-haired dwarf snickered. "As far as dwarvish mines go, this one is basically just a hole. With long tunnels." He touched the rock wall beside him. "And at least five large chambers."

"Notice the horn silver over there?" Fili indicated the direction with his eyes and his brother nodded. "It may not be a rich mine, but it'll produce some silver. Wanna be a miner?"

Kili shook his head. "Not really."

"Me neither." Fili frowned sharply, sending the shovel once more into the ground, grunting as he dug up some more dirt.

Thorin had ruined them for mining. Training them both from just about the cradle in fighting, tactics and weaponry. Leadership skills had been stressed more than sniffing out deposits of ore. Though both brothers knew their way around the basics, this wasn't what either had in mind for their future.

"Sell it?" Kili suggested, albeit reluctantly.

Fili shook his head, making a face. "Maybe one of our sons will want to mine. I say keep it."

"Good idea." His brother agreed, relieved actually. It was in their dwarvish nature to hang onto what they held. Which only made it harder when Kili thought about Erebor. "Do you regret your vow?"

Fili didn't have to ask which vow. The one they'd both sworn to their mother, never to return to Erebor. Never to seek the throne.

The blond frowned, but was saved from responding when his shovel struck an iron bound trunk. He grinned. "Finally."

Kili watched with great interest as his older brother struggled to basically dead lift a hefty chest from a rather narrow hole.

Fili knelt next to the weighty chest and threw open the lid. "Please be in here, I don't want to dig up the fourth chest." He groaned.

"Stop whining." The younger sibling crouched down, careful not to put his knees on the fresh turned dirt. He poked through the treasure, even going so far as to pull out a magnificent mithril necklace with delicate dangles and wirework.

"No. Ring. You need a ring." Fili wiped his face again, leaving more dirt encrusted trails.

"We died for this." Kili whispered, his eyes both loving and loathing the treasure in the chest before him. "Have you thought of that?"

Fili rolled his shoulders, as strong as he was, even he could feel a bit of an ache from his labor today. "Not dead."

"You know what I mean." Kili's voice turned brusque, his expression dark. "Our titles are gone, our ancestry is now Coppernose, and ...this is what we have to show for it."

"We breathe." Fili exhaled heavily. "Our hearts beat. Our True Names are still our own. You're getting married today. I will marry one day. We will be fathers. For now, just forget all that we left behind and focus on what we've gained." He pointed at the treasures before them. "And I don't mean in that thing."

Kili nodded solemnly. "I can't get married listing a false list of ancestors. I will not name Hamnar as my father. I will not omit mam and uncle, or grandfather."

Fili stilled, wanting to discount his brother's feelings, but he couldn't. He felt the same way. "Bofur thought of that already." He admitted. "Says we can tell everyone that since Tauriel is an elf, that it wouldn't be right."

"But what about when you get married?" The younger sibling watched his brother carefully.

The blond dwarf grimaced. "Not something I have to figure out today." He pointed back to the chest. "Find a suitable ring?"

"No." Kili straightened, looking sad. "Must be in that fourth chest after all."

Fili's head dropped in utter defeat.

"Or not." The dark-haired dwarf held up his hand, a small ring held between two fingers. "Emeralds for her eyes. Diamonds for her spirit."

Fili peered at the ring closely. "Looks small."

"It's four carats, easy." The younger brother protested. "And I like the way the setting looks like vines and the diamonds are the leaves, they frame the emerald perfectly."

"I meant the ring size. It looks like a child's ring."

Kili frowned down at the lovely ring in his hand. "A royal child."

"Thorin?"

"Or mam."

"Or a royal cousin of Nain the First." Fili sighed. "Pointless to speculate."

Kili poked at the ring for a moment, his thoughts wandering far afield. "If we'd been raised at Erebor, we'd have been unholy terrors."

Fili snorted inelegantly. "We still are."

"Damn straight." Kili tossed the ring in the air and caught it lightly in his fist. "And Tauriel has long, thin fingers. This might not have to be sized all that much."

"Yes!" Fili sighed happily.

Kili walked toward the tunnel entrance. "Now you just have to rebury the chest."

Fili's curses echoed off the rock walls.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	23. The Gift of Advice

Not in a hurry, Fili and Kili walked back toward their house. One brother clean and the other completely filthy.

Cleadeth watched them with predatory eyes from the kitchen window. She ignored Bofur and the human males still chatting at the kitchen table. The dwarf-maid twitched her mouth a bit, watching the taller of the two males coming toward her.

Kili was cute. That smile could light up an entire room. And his dark eyes were dream inducing! But he was completely tied up with that she-elf he was marrying today. Marrying. An Elf. Then again, he was the younger brother and had no memorable beard. And his bloodlines were less than impressive. Old Hamnar Coppernose had always smelled vaguely of linement to her.

"Ahem."

Her own gaze slid over to the elder brother, as if drawn there by sheer magnetic attraction. Ancestry was still less than stellar, and he wasn't as tall as his younger sibling. Yet there was something almost mesmerizing about the way he walked. As if the world belonged solely to him. Still, he was a nobody.

"Cleadeth? Sister?"

None of that really mattered when she was looking at Fili though. He was powerful. She could sense it in his manner, and see it in his form. He was broad of shoulder and thick with muscle through the chest. Something he gained from swinging blades rather than pulling on a bow, she supposed. And while his beard was well kept, at least he looked like he had one. And with all that blond hair, he reminded her of a lion she'd seen drawn into a picture book once.

"Ahem."

As if dazed, Cleadeth realized that she wasn't the only one looking out the window. Looking around, she was a bit stunned to realize that Bofur and the human boys must have left the room. "Where did everyone go?"

Teldu gave her a disbelieving stare. "They helped me get the cake in the door and now they're helping da set up the tables in the main room."

"Oh." Startled, Cleadeth gave a weak smile to her older sister. "I was distracted." The younger sister pointed out the window at the handsome brothers. "See something you like? I do."

Teldu gave her a measuring look and shook her head. "Mam would have your head if she caught you staring." She chided her sibling quietly. "And Da would not be pleased if he were in here either."

Cleadeth waved off the thought as having no consequence. Her father rarely scolded her, usually leaving discipline of his daughters to their mother. In fact, she was rather sure her father had never truly gotten over the reality that he'd been gifted with two daughters instead of sons. Not that he didn't treasure them, but that he wasn't always sure how to act around them.

"You're too young." Teldu said with a frown.

"Ta!" Cleadeth waved that off as meaningless. She wasn't too young, and only a year away from officially leaving minority behind. That didn't mean she hadn't been seriously flirting for years. For dwarves, physical maturity often came before cultural majority. "You're jealous."

"Of what?" Teldu turned away from the admittingly intriguing sight of the two brothers as they stopped to check the roasting boar hanging over the outdoor fire pit.

Something in her sister's voice actually managed to drag Cleadeth's gaze away from the male dwarves. She eyed Teldu for a moment, a bit stunned. "You actually are jealous." She said with some surprise.

"Irritated, not jealous." Teldu snapped.

Cleadeth's mouth firmed as she shot a glance out the window, seeing the Coppernose brothers heading toward them. "This one, he's a bit much for you. If you're interested in finding a husband at last, I can help you pick one out."

Teldu made a face and shook her head. "Spare me your leftovers." The apprentice baker snarled. "I could marry anyone I choose. I just haven't met a dwarf to measure up to want I'm wanting."

Cleadeth blinked her sultry eyes slowly, a bit surprised. "I just thought you didn't like the attention the males were paying to me." Completely ignoring the fact that she'd actively tried to flirt with any male that came near their house for simply years. Especially the ones that had come to call on her sister.

Teldu gave a weak shrug. "If they are too shallow to see beauty over substance and recognize worth for what it is, then I don't care to entertain them."

Shallow? Cleadeth's eyes narrowed with temper. Only the clatter of the returning Coppernose brothers managed to wipe the sharp frown lines from her face. Cleadeth spun, pasting a bright smile on. A pleasant greeting was always a good start in any relationship. And despite Fili's ignoring of her earlier, she was now triply determined to win his approval.

Her smile only dipped slightly as her eyes widened at the state of Fili's cleanliness. "What happened?"

The blond dwarf scratched absently at his short beard, letting a puff of dust and dirt fall carelessly around him. "Busy." Was his only answer.

"Go outside and clean off before you step into this kitchen." Teldu snapped at him.

Fili's eyes narrowed on the older daughter of Dern, his dirt encrusted boot hanging in the air mid-step. "It's my house." He pointed out the obvious in a wary tone.

Kili looked back and forth between them, grinning happily, eager to watch the outcome.

Cleadeth nearly purred. "Oh you poor dwarf. Sister, you should be sweeter. He looks like he's put in a hard day."

Fili tilted his head slightly to the younger sister, though his eyes never left Teldu or her sharp frown and spooky blue-eyed gaze. "A hard day." He agreed.

"A clean kitchen. Filled with food for guests that don't want to eat your dust." Teldu waved a hand toward the table. "And the cake."

Kili and Fili's eyes both went to the large cake, even though it was currently covered. The dark haired dwarf's grin widened in delight. Fili's eyes narrowed in inspection, he leaned forward.

"Put that foot down in this kitchen and I'll toss ice water over your head." Teldu's frown eased, even as she threatened.

Foot still hanging in the air, Fili gave the dwarf-maid his full attention.

Cleadeth's mouth moved into a pout. He was looking at the wrong sister! Her only solice was that he appeared angry, not flirty. "I was just telling my older sister how you resemble a lion from a picture book we used to have."

Teldu shot her sister an odd look. She'd said no such thing, not out loud anyway. "We still have that book, you'd know that if you ever bothered to read."

"A lion?" Fili shrugged. "I've been called worse."

"It's a compliment, silly!" Fili finally spared Cleadeth a quick glance from the corner of his eyes. His foot still poised in the air. "Your balance is impressive, you've been on one foot all this time and you haven't wobbled even once." She gave him a teasing smile full of promise.

"Lions are vicious and sneaky." He commented.

Cleadeth waved off his words. "They're predators, and magnificently powerful."

Pleased with the comparison, Fili's natural confidence had his grin returning. He looked around the kitchen and very deliberately put his booted foot down onto the clean floor. Pieces of caked-together dirt flecked off his heavy boots.

Teldu hissed and grabbed a bucket.

Kili held up his hands in surrender. He'd fight orcs, trolls, goblins and even a dragon. But dwarf-maids? His mother would have boxed his ears until they rang. Besides, he wasn't the one with filthy boots.

But Teldu made no move to throw the empty bucket at Fili. Instead she also grabbed a mop and marched over, thrusting both directly at him. It was either take them or let them fall to the floor.

The clatter of the wooden bucket and mop falling onto the floor had Kili wincing. Cleadeth's eyes were large as she watched. Fili crossed his arms, appearing indifferent to the female's towering temper.

Teldu crossed her arms, tapping her foot in irritation. "Clean the floor or yourself. But you're not bringing that filth inside around the food."

Fili was left at a crossroads. She was right. But he did NOT want to admit that, not here, not now. "Don't you know it's never safe to beard a lion in his own den?" He grumbled, thrusting his jaw foward stubbornly.

Teldu's spooky-blue eyes widened. "I never said you looked like a lion." Though he kind-of did, she reluctantly noted. "I think you look more like a lumbering boar, wallowing in the mud and muck. Smell like one too. Be careful we don't spit you and hang you over the fire as well."

Reminded over earlier adventures, Kili leaned over and looked out the window at the boar they were currently roasting and whistled tunelessly. He then grinned widely. "I think that piggy looks like we almost did back at the Troll's fire."

Sudden humor pulled a sharp laugh from the elder brother and he relaxed a bit. "Perhaps a bit. But without a hobbit spouting cooking ideas to the trolls."

"What is a hobbit?" Cleadeth asked, confused.

"Ladies, why don't we go inside and check out what's left to be done." The dark-haired dwarf smiled ingratiatingly at the duo. "Let my brother wash up a bit."

Forgetting her mild curiousity, the younger sister stepped forward. "I could help." Cleadeth offered with a small swivel move of her shoulders meant to be tempting.

Kili saw the lack of expression on his brother's face, and knew that Fili had about had enough. He shook his head. "I need your help. I have a ring for my bride, but it needs to be properly cleaned so it will sparkle. I'm sure you two could get this sorted out without a problem."

Teldu rolled her eyes, even as she moved to join the younger brother at the door leading into the main part of the house. "Since when does any dwarf need help to clean one ring?" She shot a glance at Fili, knowing a strategic retreat was in the making.

Truth. Kili winked at her and motioned at Cleadeth to follow. The younger sister moved achingly slowly, trying to give Fili enough time to protest and ask her to stay.

He didn't.

Teldu turned around, giving the elder brother a long look down her nose. "No peeking at the cake. No touching. No tasting. And don't even go near it until you're clean." She paused, thinking quickly. "Not even then."

Fili's mouth flattened into a grim look. He did not like being ordered around.

"I think you should go outside and clean up. You smell worse than you look." She continued dismissively.

"You think?" Fili snarled, any filter leaving his mouth completely. "A thought crossing your mind? It must have been a long and lonely journey through there then."

Teldu hissed and Cleadeth smiled, her good humor restored.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

The room was packed with people. Humans and Dwarves alike. All of them had arrived early. Many had brought extra chairs. All of them seemed to be talking and laughing and having a grand time.

Tauriel was pulled from group to group, meeting a dizzying array of people. Matching names and faces was becoming more and more difficult. And her lengthy hair was bound up in ropes of braids, pinned together in loops hanging down past her shoulders and back up again to the crown of her head. So many pins. It's a wonder she didn't have a headache already.

She thought at least that Kili would enjoy the look, but he'd pulled a tight smile at the sight and wrinkled his nose. "I like you looking like you." Was all he'd said.

Which was lovely. But left her with an ungainly hairstyle for the evening, because she couldn't tear it down and upset the dwarrowdams who'd spent two hours putting it up!

Bofur tapped her elbow and the she-elf turned to him like a life-line. But before she could speak, he had pressed a mug of ale into her hand, grinned and winked ...and then moved on. Without her.

She stood taller than everyone else in the room though, and she could make out Kili's dark hair and bright laughter even in the raucous crowd. Only, he was on the other side of the room.

Fili showed up on her other side and his cheeks were already rosy with good spirits. The fermented kind. She started to open her mouth to ask what she should be doing, when he waved a hand at her to hush. Grinning, the blond dwarf pointed at where several males where erecting a large bell in a wooden case in the middle of the room.

Tauriel's green-eyed gaze watched curiously. This was the bell she was supposed to avoid?

It appeared no one else was avoiding it. "What's going on?"

Fili shrugged loosely, all his earlier temper evaporating into good humor lubricated by copious amounts of ale and food. "Bachelors and older married men." He burped, grinning. "Watch. Now it starts."

"Now what starts?" Tauriel felt someone jostle her and she turned, surprised to see Kili as he was being shoved into position next to her. Surely this wasn't the time for vows already?

The laughing groom batted mockingly at the hands pushing on him, not really fighting. He looked as ripped as his older brother. She watched, bemused as Kili's empty ale mug was taken away by someone only to have a full mug pressed into his other hand. That seemed to be the theme for the night.

Perhaps she should join them. She raised her own mug to her lips, then stalled as Fili grabbed her elbow. He shook his head at her and pointed at the wedding bell in the middle of the room. "Wait." He yelled, trying to be heard.

The tall she-elf looked around the room. Everywhere she looked there was laughter, jokes, drinks, and good cheer. This was entirely different from the celebrations she'd experienced at home with her own kind. Even when getting drunk, the elves usually showed a lot more decorum.

A shout went up from somewhere near the wedding bell and Tauriel allowed a small smile. As foreign as she found all this, it wasn't unpleasant. The red-head felt a tug and realized that she and Kili were being urged to sit next to each other.

Taking her place, she smiled at Kili, whose grin was stretching from one ear to the other. A sense of happiness stole through her, a peace within herself. Who knew that she'd feel most at home among dwarves?

The older dwarf raised his hand, lifted the attached clapper and struck the bell hard to send a sharp peal of sound throughout the whole house.

"What is he doing?" Tauriel whispered.

"Giving words of encouragement and advice." Fili burped loudly. "For a happy marriage."

Everyone waited as the dwarf cleared his throat, turning to face Kili. He pointed one stubby finger at the groom. "If you snore, be sure to let her go to sleep first."

The room full of dwarves roared it's approval and stamped their collective feet, downing their ale in a display of drunken glee.

"Drink! Drink!" Fili urged, tapping her elbow. Tauriel looked over at Kili, but he'd already downed his mug and a newly filled one was being pressed into his free hand.

She looked up, to find all eyes on her. The older dwarf was watching her expectantly. Tauriel gave a weak smile and took a large sip of her ale. The dwarves around her raised their mugs, both full and empty, shouting their satisfaction.

The ale tasted full-bodied and sweet, balanced with a bitter note. It was nice actually. She smiled and looked at Fili. He looked disgusted and motioned for her to finish the mug. Tauriel shook her head at him. He nodded. Sighing, she downed the rest of her mug.

Fili sighed with a sudden grin. "Ah now." His expression brightened even further when another round of ale filled mugs were passed around.

She tried to wave off the second ale, but the older dwarf wouldn't be denied. It was take it or let it fall to the floor. Tauriel looked down at the two mugs in her hands, only to have the empty one snatched away by a dwarf whose name she could not recall.

Now another older dwarf dressed in mended leathers and a hat that had seen better days walked up the bell in the middle of the room, holding up his hand for attention.

"More advice?" The she-elf guessed as this one too rang the wedding bell sharply.

The older dwarf slipped his hat off his head, holding it before his heart. He winked at Tauriel, then addressed Kili. "If you hear the words, 'we have to talk'. Run."

Laughter roared out all around the room.

Not needing a cue this time, Tauriel took a large drink from her mug. She then turned to Kili. "That's his advice?"

Fili leaned across her, pointing at his younger brother. "Seems like good advice to me."

The dark-eyed groom blinked lazily and blindly held out his empty mug. It was whisked away and replaced without comment. Tauriel sighed and chuckled.

"How long does this continue?" The red-head asked, though no one seemed to take her question seriously. She looked between the two brothers, feeling the pins in her hair poking at her scalp.

However, when the next person approached the bell, quiet really did fall over the room. The scrape of boots shifting nervously on the floorboards and with a few hissed whispers. The change had Tauriel and Kili both looking up.

A human male stood near the dwarven wedding bell. He looked at the groom, as if for permission.

Kili shot a glance at Bofur and Fili. Neither objected and the young groom nodded slowly.

The human, Deven's father if Kili wasn't mistaken, picked up the clapper and rang the bell. He cleared his throat, and then in a loud voice he spoke. "My best advice? When you are wrong, be quick to admit it. And when you are right? Shut up."

There was a small beat, and then a huge roar of approval and the boots stomping the floor nearly had the house shaking. Several dwarves turned to their human neighbors and bumped them with their shoulders in a sign of acceptance.

The humans grinned, drank their ale and marvelled at how these usually stoic and silent dwarves that they'd known their whole lives were actually funny, lively, and full of laughter.

"I thought the bell was to chase away evil spirits, not a signal to drain your mug." Tauriel commented, unsure as the blond dwarf took her mug and pressed another one into her hand.

Fili unsuccessfully tried to hide his smile. "Ah, and why can't it be both?" He teased.

Kili sat up, his interest snagged. "Someone is feeling bold."

Tauriel glanced over where her love was watching. "I thought females weren't supposed to go near the wedding bell?"

Fili nearly choked on his ale as he laughed. They all watched as Cleadeth skirted the edge of the area around the bell, multiple pairs of eyes following her every mood.

"Risky, risky." Kili muttered with a slow grin. He winced as one young dwarve made a preemptive grab for her hand and the dwarf-maiden spun out of the way and over toward the side of the room. "Not even close."

Tauriel watched the disappointed young dwarf pout. "Why did he have his hand on the bell casing? He could have caught her if he hadn't been touching it."

"Tradition." Kili leaned back in his chair lazily. "Can only kiss the maids if you can catch them while in contact with the wedding bell. Let her know you're interested."

"Kiss a lot of maids, did you?" The she-elf asked caustically.

"Ye ...er, no. Not a lot." Kili amended his answer as his chair lurched dangerously from being kicked by Bofur.

"Liar." Fili coughed the word into his fist, culling a wicked smile from his less than sober younger sibling.

"Where was this?" A middle-aged dwarf asked curiously, grinning happily.

Bofur rolled his eyes and shrugged. "In his imagination mostly." Lying through his teeth.

Luckily the dwarf was just as south of sober as the rest of them, and he let the comment slip away as a neighbor bumped him, spilling a few drops of his ale.

Dern leaned in, falsely casual as he planted his hand on the back of Kili's chair. "Most male dwarves rarely see a dwarf-maid unless they live in much larger communities of dwarves."

Fili's mirth lost it's edge and he sighed, even Kili's smile dimmed a bit. They were supposed to be Hamnar's lost sons come home at last from a life of wandering. Not royal heirs used to dwarvish society, and much sought after by females of their race.

The sound of the bell pulled them all away from their thoughts.

A truly ancient dwarf grinned at the young couple. "An elf choosing to marry a dwarf. Something I never thought to have seen. Personally, I don't know how she chose this particular dwarf either. Probably poor taste ...or poor eyesight!"

Tauriel's green eyes narrowed with the insult, but then Kili burst into delighted laughter beside her. She glanced over at Fili, but that blond warrior was nearly doubled over in mirth. Even Bofur was wiping tears from his eyes. She stared at the older dwarf and he grinned nearly toothless at her, making motions that she needed to drink.

That's when she realized, these insults weren't meant to be insulting. Somehow, this was part of the celebration, and a show of acceptance. She took a long swallow of her drink and gave a half-tilted smile.

Another ring of the bell. Tauriel looked up, mildly suprirsed to see a younger dwarf standing in the middle of the room, his bushy beard without a hint of gray. "Marriage." He took a deep breath, as if about to impart soul-searing wisdom upon them all. "Marriage is full of ups and downs." Suddenly, his solemnity vanished as he cracked a wide grin. "Just make sure those ups and downs are in between the sheets!"

More laughter, more ale, and Tauriel even chuckled at that one, risque as it had been. Several more followed, until more than one head was reeling.

The she-elf peered around the room, wondering if she would manage to get married before everyone fell over dead drunk. But as if by some unspoken cue, the bell stopped ringing.

"Food!" Nothing is like the sound of heavy working boots as the demand spread through the room. "Food!"

Plates were passed around and everyone lined up at the overflowing tables. No, the food wasn't as fancy as she'd seen at Elven banquets, but it was delicious and filling certainly. But no one would let either her nor Kili line up. Instead, they'd be brought plate after plate of samples.

Tauriel gratefully ate her fill, not even realizing how hungry she'd been until the food had been brought to her. Kili was eating nearly three times as much. She smiled at him. And even though he was medically clear to eat just about anything he wanted, it still made her a bit jumpy when he crunched a carrot.

"I'm fine." He groaned, noting her look. "Even carrots aren't evil anymore."

She gave a small, sad smile. So grateful that he was indeed healthy. "I almost lost you." The elf whispered.

"What?" Kili grinned happily up at her.

The red-head shook her head, not wanting to dwell on what had almost come to pass. Instead she held out a forkful of Teldu's delicious cake. Kili leaned in and let her feed it to him, licking the chocolate frosting off his lips.

Tauriel's eyes sharpened and she dipped her finger in the thick, fluffy chocolate and put a dab on Kili's lip. His dark-eyes laughed at her. She leaned in and licked it off. When she drew back, he wasn't laughing anymore.

Bofur grabbed the back of Kili's chair, giving it a good shake and making the young groom grab the arm rests to keep from falling out. "Later! That's for later!"

Tauriel sat back in her own chair, then realized that she was the subject of more than one interested gaze. When she looked around, those gazes fell away. But more than one dwarf looked back at her and nodded quietly. One older male went so far as to clap Kili on the shoulder and whisper loudly at how lucky the lad was.

Without warning, the wedding bell rang out again. Tauriel looked up in surprise. They weren't done with the advice?

Dern stood up there, grinning and looking affable. "A good wife is a treasure." He began, looking right at Tauriel. She stiffened, waiting for what he'd say next. "They always give you sound advice."

Tauriel nodded, relaxing for a second. That hadn't been bad.

"That's 99% sound, and 1% advice." Dern finished riotously, drawing a snort from Nurbera as she threw her empty mug at her husband who caught it easily.

Fili grinned and looked around the house with pride. Brookshire. Hmph. Not a bad place to settle for the moment. Good solid dwarven community, even if it was small by their standards. Humans who were willing to listen. He grinned, Mirrenda had approached him about the town defenses. Not bad, not bad.

He snuck a glance at Kili and Tauriel. No worries, not in that direction. His earlier doubts about their relationship sailed away on an ocean of ale, satisfaction, and warmth.

And he had cake.

Fili looked down at the light white-yellow cake and the chocolate decorating it. There had been chocolate flowers and vines running all over the large work of art. Silly female. Griping about how much time she'd had to put it together. It looked fine to him. Better than fine. It looked delicious.

The blond stuck his fork into the confection, then realized he wasn't alone. He blinked up and found Teldu's spooky blue eyes on him. Grinning, he shrugged. "What? I bathed."

Teldu grinned back at him, held her hand up over his cake and then let something white spinkle liberally over his dessert. She walked away without a word even as the wedding bell rang out again.

Fili watched her leave, then peered at his piece of cake. He touched the white crystals, putting them in his mouth. Darkly, he groaned. She'd salted his damned plate!

"My advice for the young couple." A cheery male dwarf dressed in fine leathers raised up his mug. "Lots of sex."

Kili raised his own mug as Tauriel lightly blushed, even as she laughed in spite of herself. She started to shake her head, but stilled at the unused to feeling of the braids looping down.

Bofur made a gesture at Fili to take his turn at the wedding bell, but the blond shook his head. He headed back over to the cake table. There was a line, but he ignored it and took the next piece right out of his guest's hand. "Mine died." He winked with great charm and headed back to his place.

A smooth male voice rose over the guests. "Don't let her know that you're smarter than she is." A groan filled the room. "Then again, not thinking that'll be an issue for this couple. Instead, you might want to consider letting him think he's smarter!"

Good nature laughter filled the room as Fili made his way through the crowd. He raised his plate out of the way of an unsteady dwarf, passing it to his other hand. Then it disappeared from his grasp.

Fili turned his head, shocked. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw the plate now in Teldu's hands. He made a step toward her, drawing up short only as she bowed and presented his slice of cake to the elder dwarrowdam, Huakil, who was seated and resting her feet. The gray-bearded older female smiled happily, taking the plate.

Teldu straightened and gave him an arch look, as if daring him to take back his cake from the elderly dwarrowdam. Oh, like he was stupid enough to try that!

Another advice-giver was standing in the middle of the room, ringing the bell. Fili sighed, not even bothering to look and see who it was this time. He was heading back to the cake table, determined.

It wasn't even about the cake, damn it! It was the idea that the little chit thought she could out maneuver him!

The dwarf handing out the plates eyed him with disapproval. There was plenty of cake, but this was Fili's third trip to the table. The blond warrior growled, didn't explain, and just took the next slice cut. This time he grunted and didn't even try to be charming.

The bell rang out again, even as Fili looked around, trying to guage where Teldu was and what she would try next.

Bofur's distinctive accent filled the room next, drawing Fili's attention. "Marry a woman who can take a good joke! You can tell she can take a good joke, because she's agreed to marry him!"

Fili laughed, even as he spied Teldu watching him. For the first time he realized she wasn't wearing her usual work clothes. She was in an actual dress.

He straightened, staring intently at her, his gaze measuring. In the blousy work clothes, she had to bind herself down. Because there had been no hint at her mildly generous curves when he'd seen her before. In fact, she cleaned up fairly well. Not that he had any intention of letting her know that.

Another ring of the bell, followed by some less than sage advice. "Young woman, er ...elf. If you want to win an argument? Show up naked."

Low groans and laughter filled the room. As the evening became more lubricated with ale, the advice became looser and more suggestive.

Fili and Teldu stared at each other, separated by only a few person. Earlier he had been grouchy, hot, dirty and tired. Now he was clean, on his way to drunk, and happy. The only thing missing? Cake. And beating her at whatever game they were playing.

The dwarf-maid visibly startled when he gifted her with a slow wink. He knew she was watching as he headed to the only place in the room where it was safe for a bachelor to eat without interference from a female.

Fili could feel her watching, drawing closer, but staying out of the way as he neared the wedding bell. She wouldn't dare come closer, not with all the male dwarves ready to grab and kiss her senseless. All without repercussions from her or her family.

Dwarven tradition. You had to love it.

The other males made way for him, as the brother of the groom and the owner of the house. Still holding his pristine piece of cake, Fili grabbed the clapper and loudly rang the bell.

Teldu narrowed her eyes on him as he grinned outrageously.

Silence fell over the crowd as he leaned against the casing of the bell. "When a she-elf steals your younger brother, there is no better revenge ..." His grin turned darkly wicked. "Than to let her keep him. No giving him back!"

Shouts of glee roared through the house, shaking the rafters as boots stomped the floor.

Cleadeth walked by the group, just out of reach. She glanced over her shoulder at Fili, obviously looking for attention. Several males moved to follow her, as did his own gaze.

Inwardly he couldn't help but compare the winning charm of the younger sister with the tartness of the older. Both, he had to admit, were lovely. But beauty never held, and never filled a house with life and laughter. His mother had taught him that many years ago. And he had to admit, Cleadeth ...bored him. It was too bad actually.

He turned to see where Teldu was standing, only to draw up short as she moved in front of him. He had a flash of her satisfied look, before her hand touched his and lifted. Shoving his cake plate, and the chocolate cake on it, in his face.

More laughter filled the room with shouts of encouragement.

Teldu moved away. Only to draw up short as Fili caught her arm. He grinned, unmindful of the chocolate smeared in his face. "Nice move. You forgot one thing."

The dwarf-maid raised her eyes at him. He patted the bell one second before yanking her into him and kissing the breath out of her lungs.

Teldu yeilded for a second, then two. Finally she yanked on her arm.

Fili reluctantly let her go, satisfied to see rich chocolate smearing her reddened lips and beading in the short ruff of her own beard. A very soft beard, as he now had cause to know.

Another bachelor reached out toward the unmarried female, only to drop to his knees as Fili punched him in the back without thinking about it first. Gasping for breath, the male snarled even as Teldu moved out of the area and safely back over to her mother.

Dern was there too. Fili and the father both stared at each other, their countenance's giving nothing away. The blond finally shook his head. That would be a discussion for another day.

Fili headed over to Kili and Tauriel. The she-elf gave him a guarded look, while his younger brother leaned over toward him. "What was that about?"

Shrugging, Fili deliberately didn't answer. He didn't have an answer, not really. Uncomfortable with his thoughts, and yet feeling more alive than he had since before the Battle of Five Armies, he crossed his arms.

The wedding bell rang out yet again, drawing attention away from him and stalling Kili's pointed questions. Fili nodded over at the older male standing next to the bell.

The male dwarf grinned, his nose and cheeks red from drink. "Adice, I mean ...advice for the young couple!" He thumped his chest heartily. "Males should keep their mouths shut or firmly planted between their wive's thighs."

Tauriel's face went from creamy complexion to alarmingly red in under three seconds as groans raced throughout the house. More than a few items were thrown at the speaker.

Fili grinned at the crude humor, but couldn't help but look for Teldu. Had she called it quits? Had she hidden like a coward?

Finally he spied her off to the side of the room. She was sprinkling something on a large piece of cake, then handing it to ...her sister? It didn't take much imagination to figure out the plan as Cleadeth was unknowningly pointed in his direction.

Clever, clever.

His arms still crossed, he grinned. And when Cleadeth delivered the plate of cake to him, he accepted with more grace and attentiveness than he had yet shown her. The younger daughter preened under the attention.

Bofur sidled up to him, looking curious as Fili dismissed the young maiden back to her family. Cleadeth kept shooting him 'don't you want to join me' looks all the way back.

"Be careful there laddie." The older male commented dryly. "That one has been flirting with anything not in short pants all night."

"Here." Fili handed Bofur the cake plate without warning him.

"Oh! Thank'n you, lad."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	24. Heirs

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Bofur, chatting with a human farmer, glanced back at Fili. The toy-maker gave the younger dwarf a quelling look. This had been the third time he'd asked that same question in under thirty minutes.

Quelling looks didn't work on Fili. The blond poked him in the side rudely. "Are you?"

Holding up a finger to the man he was discussing important issues with, Bofur turned to Fili and shoved him in the shoulder as retaliation. "What, laddie?"

"Stop talking toys. I want to know how you feel."

"Annoyed." Bofur commented. "And too close to sober." He turned back to the human male, then stopped and glanced once more at Fili. "And I can talk toys if'n I want. I make toys!"

Fili twisted his head sharply, cracking his neck before rolling his shoulders. He sent a hard look over at where Teldu was now helping to serve the cake. The great big chocolate cake that he'd yet to have a taste of, despite being the one to order and pay for it!

But beyond that, it was a game between them. And Fili never lost. He sneered at her, even though she was ignoring him. As if he didn't exist.

The blond-haired dwarf scowled. And maybe that was the problem. He didn't exist. Not anymore. He and his brother had each basically given up their true identities.

And the other dwarves knew it. Oh, they didn't know who the brothers actually were. But they knew who they weren't. All night long he'd been fielding pointed little comments, questions, and hints. Who was he really? Who was Kili? Why were they hiding? Were they hiding?

Some believed the cover story that they were the lost sons of old Hamnar Coppernose, finally returned. But those were the minority. The rest seemed to think that he and his brother were using the names Kili and Fili as a cover. Which was good. And demeaning. Fili frowned, rubbing the beaded side of his mustache out of habit.

"Did you even warn him before giving Bofur that piece of cake?"

Startled, Fili did not move a muscle. He refused to let Teldu know he'd been so lost in thought he'd not noticed her approach. "No." He paused for a moment, but she made no further comment. So he did. "What did you put on it?"

"Candied flower petals." Teldu shrugged, looking smug. "I knew you were watching, and wouldn't eat something when you knew I'd added an unknown substance."

So the cake hadn't been tampered with. Fili's eyes narrowed dangerously. Teldu was up on him. This would not do. "Did I bruise your lips?" He taunted her in a low, husky voice.

Teldu stiffened and he grinned, both remembering when he'd grabbed her and kissed the stuffing out of her. Maybe they were more like even. Except, he still hadn't gotten to sample the cake.

"Girl."

Teldu glanced up at her father's stern face and knew it was his cue for 'move along'. She sniffed, smiled at a scowling Fili and winked at a stunned looking Bofur.

The toy-maker cocked his head to the left, turning his gaze on Fili. "You gave me something to eat that you thought had been tampered with? Something that might make me sick?"

"Er ...no." Fili lied with a straight face, turning toward Dern. She hadn't messed with the cake after all, so he was almost telling the truth. "Teldu messed with me first."

Dern scowled. "Later." He warned, pushing aside the matter of Fili kissing his precious daughter like he had. "Definitely a later discussion."

Bofur didn't appear ready to move on. He leaned in toward Fili. "You could have warned me."

"Nothing was wrong with the cake, damn it." Fili muttered. He lifted his chin at Dern. "What news?" The older dwarf was frowning too hard for there not to be something amiss.

"There's a lot of talk in the group." Dern looked around, making sure they were private enough for this discussion. He frowned. They weren't. He scowled and turned, leading the way into the kitchen.

Fili and Bofur followed the other dwarf, pulling up sharply as they realized the kitchen wasn't private either. Nurbera was in there, supervising a replenishing of food platters. The blond host gave her his thanks and a gracious bow before turning toward a side room off the hall.

The blond marched in, relieved to find the spacious room clear of guests. This was the room he'd claimed as his own private study. Kili had needled him about it, but had then claimed the gardens out back as his own to set up archery targets. Bofur had then spread out tools and doohickies in the second utility room off the kitchen.

Communal living was common to dwarves, as was claiming personal space within those environs. Everyone seemed happy.

Fili turned, then sighed. Dern didn't seem happy. He hoped this really wasn't about his impromptu kiss with Teldu. He wasn't even sure how he felt about that, much less how to explain it to her father. "Well? You said there's talk."

Dern nodded, leaning heavily agains the sturdy door. "My three cousins and my wife know who you really are. No one else. And to my way of thinking, that's too many already. At least the humans are accepting your story at face value."

"But not the dwarves, not all of them." Bofur shrewdly guessed, still shooting unhappy looks at Fili. "I could have been killed."

"Poltroon." The blond muttered at the toy-maker, who stiffened with the insult.

Dern pointed at Fili, his mouth tight. "There. See? That's an old fashioned word, an educated one. High education."

Fili sneered. "I and my brother were raised impovershed in the Blue Mountains. It's an old-fashioned word, maybe. But my education was the same as any other young dwarf in exile." He glanced at Bofur. "It means 'coward', by the way."

"I know that!" The toy maker drew up haughtily.

"You learned your vocabulary from your uncle or your mam?" Dern asked, thinking it out logically. "They were high educated in Erebor, I'm presuming. Before the dragon. What they knew, they passed to you and your brother. NOT the same education as any other young dwarf in or out of exile."

Fili grunted, realizing perhaps that the older dwarf had some valid thoughts. Perhaps he did talk more like Thorin than Bofur, but then he'd been bascially raised by his uncle. Trained by him, for the throne. He couldn't help but wince at the thought of Erebor not being ruled by Durin's direct line.

Dern nodded, seeing his point hitting home. "Nurbera and I have both explained why Kili and Tauriel won't be listing their ancestry."

Bofur sighed, nodding though still clearly unhappy. "Tauriel is an elf, obviously she can't be expected to recite her history in Khuzdul as is tradition."

The older dwarf looked upset as he ran one hand down his face. "There are more than a few that consider that you and your brother take honorable names, of fallen heroes, and hide behind them."

Fili's scowl deepened. It wasn't that he hadn't known that. And it wasn't that he and Kili weren't counting on exactly that misconception in order to protect themselves. It was that the whole idea of hiding himself was distasteful in the first place.

"I and my cousins accept you, and we've made that well known. But some, especially the elders, are not so welcoming. They say that they don't mind Kili marrying an elf of all things, much." He winced. "Some took more convincing than others."

Bofur snorted in agreement, he'd had to do some of that convincing himself.

But Dern wasn't done. "Mostly, they hate not knowing why you hide here. Why. And who you really are. The prevailing thought is that you, your brother, and Bofur here are running from Dain's army. Deserting, because of Kili's relationship with Tauriel. Breaking vows of service to Dain."

Bofur looked down at his shined boots, but could only see a marred reflection of himself. "Damn."

Fili froze, his face a mask of pure unhappiness.

"You may have to let that stand." Bofur said, his voice extremely quiet, but sorrow dripping from each word. "I know it's hateful."

"But that's not what I needed to tell you." Dern rubbed at his beard nervously, then blurted out the rest of it. "I don't think the elders will bless the union."

The blond started, raising his head sharply as his expression clouded with anger. "They brought gifts, offered advice, drank our ale ..."

"And they said they'll offer the blessing, IF Kili recites his ancestry traditionally." Dern looked embarrassed to even be relaying this particular message. "His real ancestry line."

Bofur said something unrepeatable under his breath.

Fili stared at nothing, his mind racing. The way he stood, his stance, clearly showed that he was not happy. But it was the controlled power that fairly radiated off the younger dwarf that had both Bofur and Dern looking at each other a bit unnerved.

Dern waited, unsure of what to say. And what not to say. He could deal with Fili the dwarf. But Fili, the heir of Durin? He had not a clue.

Bofur gritted his teeth. "We could ...no." He made a fist, then forced himself to relax. "What if we just called this an engagement party instead? Say the bride got cold feet?"

Dern nodded, grasping at any vague idea. "Perhaps." He said, as he pointed at Bofur.

"No." Fili said with little heat.

Bofur frowned. "You're right. Not the bride. But we can't say Kili got cold feet. No one would believe us, anyway. Lad is clearly besotted with Tauriel. And she dotes on him, though it's harder to read an elf, it's still there. Besides, it would be an insult to her to claim he wanted a delay. So ..."

"The wedding will be held." Fili's voice was even, as if he weren't under tremendous stress. "Tonight."

Suddenly nervous, Bofur tried to say something, but nothing came to mind and after a moment, he just shut his mouth and grunted. How they were going to accomplish this, he had not a clue. But some instinct told him to wait for Durin's heir to explain.

Fili finally turned and looked at both of the other male dwarves. He smiled, but it wasn't a happy look on his face. His eyes were narrowed with determination. "Sometimes the roll call of the ancestry has been done separately. Done before the Gamulalh rather than the wedding guests."

Dern's thick eyebrows shot up in surprise. "The Gamulalh?" The historians, as translated from Khuzdul. "That is for small ceremonies with few family available." It was a less a tradition than a convenience. Small ceremonies satisfying societal customs, with the 'historians' spreading the word that all had been done correctly.

"We have few family." Fili nearly bit out the words. "Too few."

Dern winced, feeling like he'd stuck his large boot directly into his mouth. Durin's direct line was now down to two living male heirs. Two.

"The Gamulalh." Fili nodded, as if coming to some degree of agreement within his own mind. He turned to look at Bofur. "Who better? We don't have to reveal ourselves outright, or lie. We take two elders and name them our historians for the evening. Swear them to secrecy. No one keeps a secret like a good dwarf."

Bofur looked helplessly at the younger dwarf. "It would still'n be a risk." Two more with the knowledge that could be disasterous.

Fili shuddered deliberately, shaking off his mood as best he could. Instead, he fixed his eyes upon Dern, who straightened in spite of himself despite the blond being the younger of the two males. There was definitely something regal in Fili's manner, he mused to himself. "Go. Find two elders. They will act as our Gamulalh for the night."

Dern stared, unsure. "But ..."

Fili gave a fierce nod. "Choose wisely and well, our lives could depend upon this secret. And I hold my brother's breath to be worth more than all the gold of Erebor. I think I've already proven that beyond all doubt."

Dern swallowed hard, catching the implication.

Bofur cleared his throat to get attention. "Make sure that these two elders can not only keep a secret silent, but that they can reassure the entire dwarven community here that no further inquiry will be made."

"Or tolerated." Fili snapped, his voice controlled by an iron will. "From henceforth. We will be known only as Coppernose the Elder and Coppernose the Younger. Fili and Kili at home only."

Dern nodded again, his hand groping behind him for the door handle. His eyes wide. He'd known from almost the first who these young dwarves were, but he hadn't realized just EXACTLY whom he was dealing with.

The blond before him was a warrior, a leader, and a descendant of their most sacred bloodline. He wasn't some young brawler, or if he was, he was also much more than merely that.

Dern slipped away from the room, and in the back of his head, if he hoped the heir of all heirs let his gaze slip away from his daughters, that might be a good thing. It would be difficult to act as a father-by-marriage to THIS dwarf. Whomever Fili did wed? There would be a lot of expectations upon the poor female.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Huakil and Ulwin looked around the private study in interest. Far more interest than was needed. It was a large empty room with bare bookshelves, a rickety table and a straight backed chair. Indeed the chair had seen better days, having three oaken legs and the fourth a rough plank of cedar obviously meant to keep the chair in service long after it should have been tossed away or used as kindling.

Fili didn't even bother with looking embarrassed. He was still too angry, and a bit too sober. It had been at least an hour since his last tankard of ale. He frowned at the thought. "This is my brother's wedding." It was both a statement and a complaint.

Ulwin, an elderly male dwarf made a prissy face. A look that didn't belong with his rather unfinished looking face. That nose had been broken at least once in his long lifetime. And his white-gray beard held only a few streaks of blanched ginger. Almost appearing as like a vein of gold within quartz, Fili mused absently.

Huakil peered over at the bride, who was sitting in the mended chair looking unconcerned. Whether she was as disinterested as she appeared, the dwarrowdam couldn't tell. Elves were well known for not giving away each passing feeling. Kili stood at her side, making their height difference appear to be less. "If Ulwin and I don't find your words to be adequate, we will not bless this marriage."

Tauriel's green eyes flashed anger for a second before the elf could school her face into neutral lines once more. "You helped spend two hours braiding my hair meticulously for this ceremony that you dare to hold hostage now?"

The elderly dwarrowdam chuckled a bit and gave a small nod, awknowledging the comment. "A small kindness for someone that I can see plainly really is in love. And it is truly my hope that the ceremony will take place."

Ulwin sniffed at that. Clearly he did not care if the ceremony preceded or not.

Tauriel looked away from the dwarven elders, only stilling as Kili rested his broad hand on her shoulder. It was a incongruous sight, the strong hand of the dwarf on the delicate slope of the elf's collarbone. Even odder was the tenderness the touch conveyed.

Huakil looked at them both sadly for a moment, then steeled her spine. She had a duty as an elder dwarrowdam. "My personal hopes aside, it does not negate the fact that we can not condone nor allow a false line of ancestors to be called upon."

Ulwin spoke up, his light tenor voice rolling pleasantly throughout the room. His eyes nearly lost beneath wrinkles and heavy white brows. "Honor demands only the truth. It's bad enough that you have chosen to cross racial lines ..."

Fili straightened with a frightening hiss of displeasure. The elder dwarf fell silent, cautiously watching the blond whose hand went to his belt. And his knife blade. Whether it was a threat, or a nervous gesture, no one was quite sure.

"Lad." Bofur bowed to Fili, drawing an odd look from both elders. Dwarves didn't bow to others lightly. It was a show of deep respect. And they were left to wonder why the blond was deserving of such a gesture from the older, and accomplished, dwarf.

Fili's face cleared and he nodded slowly, reaching up to run one hand over his lower jaw for a second to gather his thoughts. Finally he turned to the two elders. "The truth only in this room. Kili will name his ancestors correctly. You will bless the union. You will never speak of what you learn here, for if you do I swear on blood of my ancestors, you nor your families will draw further breath into your bodies if you put my brother or his wife in danger."

Tauriel looked up sharply, looking disturbed. Kili's hand tightened slightly on her shoulder, a cue to not interfere. She chose to wait to respond.

Dern froze in place, barely drawing a breath. It was a bold move, and a heavy threat. But then, considering what he knew, was it really unwarrented?

Huakil and Ulwin shot each other incredulous looks. Both shifted nervously. They'd already thought that the lads were adventurers, hiding from their family because of the youngest's desire to marry an elf. Suddenly, that surity didn't seem to be on solid ground any more.

Ulwin cleared his throat a bit roughly. "Danger? Is your family so opposed to this Elven-Dwarf relationship, odd as it may be, that they hunt you?"

Fili frowned sharply, and gave a terse shake of his head. "Be sure you want to know this truth. This will be your last chance to leave this room uninitiated. Being the Gamulalh for them, for us, carries a responsibility."

Huakil waved one hand in a small arc. "That's not the way this works. You need to proclaim yourselves to the community at large. Make peace with your families. Or wait for this marriage."

Fili stared plainly at the two. "No. The community will NOT be told. Our family is each other. There is one other, but she does know of this relationship and, perhaps reluctantly, agrees. We are the Coppernose brothers. I am Coppernose the Elder."

Kili picked up his cue smoothly. "I am Coppernose the Younger."

"You will allow the community to know that you have witnessed the line of ancestry. That you have witnessed the vows. It will serve as enough. You will keep our secret." Fili's voice was that of one used to being obeyed.

Ulwin stirred uneasily. He was an elder now, but in his youth he'd been a part of the dwarven military under one of the Seven Families. He knew what he was hearing was the tone of command. Whomever this young blond dwarf was, he was not lacking in confidence. And Ulwin was uneasily sure he could back up his words.

"You insisted. You blackmailed and held up this wedding. Fine. We will share our history with you. And only you. You in turn will be the final word that the traditions have been properly met." Kili spoke up.

Huakil stirred in her seat. Gone was the rascal and scamp. Before her now was a tall dwarf, his face serious. The laughter, so much a part of his winning personality, was hidden. She was uncomfortably certain that she'd underestimated the younger brother. He was just as much a warrior as his older sibling.

Ulwin twisted his mouth in distaste, not ready to give in.

"You will serve as our historians, our Gamulalh." Fili spoke slowly, ignoring the two elder's stares. "Witnesses. Or leave now, send in two others."

Huakil and Ulwin looked at each other. Neither wanted to really want to give in, but both were completely eaten up with the need to know. Finally, they both gave a decisive nod of assent.

Fili patted his belt, drawing out a small pouch. He sighed, weighing the cloth bag carefully, his expression almost wistful. "Before we procede with the ancestry. There is the matter of the Zabadogim Khajima."

Ulwin's bushy white eyebrows shot up in surprise. He cut his gaze over toward Tauriel, the only non-dwarf in the room. "You use our language, now?"

Fili shook his head. "She is of my family. If this union is so blessed with children, they will have need to learn Khuzdul. From this time forward, she is my not only my brother-spouse, but my sister."

Huakil's eyes widened a bit, she had a sinking feeling that there was more to these two lads than she'd originally considered. "You would teach her Khuzdul?"

"It has already started." Kili lost his solemnity with a proud look at his bride.

"And he learns my language." Tauriel slid her comment in smoothly.

"Zabadogim Khajima?" Huakil cut through to the most salient point. "The throne gift?"

She spoke quickly, once Fili's eyes fell to her. "That is something given from the family to the bride or groom, when they are of a lesser bloodline. A gift to show that they are welcome within the family with the higher standing. Is that strictly necessary?"

"No." Kili sounded almost angry, staring at his elder brother. "I don't consider her lesser in any way."

Fili rolled his eyes at his brother. "I don't either, Kili. It's tradition though, and I want Tauriel to know that despite my earlier reservations. She is now and hereafter family. Forever."

Tauriel's hand reached for Kili's, and at her touch, his hot temper cooled a bit. He glared at his brother for a moment longer, then gave a terse nod.

Ulwin sighed unhappily. "The greater the gift, the higher the bloodline discrepency." He sounded unsure. "I don't know how to quantify what worth of gift to be appropriate in this manner. Dwarf to Elf."

Tauriel stiffened at the implied insult. Kili snarled. "There is no racial discrepency." He asserted strongly, and his elder brother nodded in agreement.

Huakil listened, her mind still circling the issues. If the young dwarves did not consider Tauriel's race to be beneath them. Then their social class was higher than that of the elf? But how? Who?

Fili hadn't thought of the gift until earlier today, looking at the treasures they'd 'acquired' from Erebor. He hadn't told Kili though. This was from him, as male head of the family, to Tauriel. After the way he'd sometimes treated her, she deserved to know what he thought of her. How much he truly owed her.

"Tauriel, formerly of Mirkwood. You are beauty and grace. Your fighting prowess is beyond measure." Fili's voice thickened with emotion, and he paused to gather his thoughts together. "You have stolen my brother's heart from beneath his chest and hold it in your hands."

Tauriel stirred, unsure. She shot a quick look at Huakil. The dwarrowdam hadn't covered this in her description of dwarvish weddings. Kili smiled, his earlier temper melting away at his brother's sincere speech.

"This should be said in Khuzdul, but I don't think your studies have come so far as yet. So, I will keep this in the common tongue." Fili smiled at the beautiful red-head beside his younger brother. "Please accept this humble offering from the family. Welcome, you are of us now. Our standing, is your standing. Your word given, means our word is given. An insult to you, is an insult to us. Forever, you are we." He paused, mentally sending an apology to the fallen Thorin, who would be yelling right about now if he'd been here. "I apologize for the lack of a box, this wedding was ..."

"Sudden." Tauriel finished for him, accepting the small pouch with great dignity, feeling honored by his words. This was not something she'd ever expected. The gift was presented to her by Fili using both hands and she mirrored him in accepting. "Thank you." She gave a slight nod of her head, unsure of the traditions. The small bag didn't feel terribly heavy.

Kili looked at her expectantly, his dark-eyes going from the pouch to her face and back again.

Belatedly realizing she was supposed to open it now, Tauriel flushed slightly and picked at the knotted ties with her nails.

Huakil watched, nearly holding her breath. The pouch was small, not a large gift then. Still, the young blond had sounded so important, naming the gift as a 'throne gift'. Meaning his bloodlines were ...high? How high? Who were these two males hiding from? She looked over at Dern, who seemed so accepting of the two. Suddenly she wasn't sure she really wanted to know after all.

A gasp from the male elder had her turning her eyes back to Tauriel. At first her eyes didn't fully register what she was seeing. Then her own gasp matched Ulwin's. Mithral. The delicate links of the precious metal poured through the elf's elegant fingers as if made of something fluid rather than solid.

Kili's eyes shone bright with both pleasure and gratitude as he looked up at his elder brother. Fili gave him a nod, unable to speak for the moment due to the sudden lump in his throat.

Huakil felt her chest tightening with true worry. The elf-maid was holding in her hands a necklace worth more than she could readily calculate. The number of intricate links forming a network mimicking lace was staggering.

Ulwin looked like he was turning red. The elderly dwarrowdam gave him a sharp knock on the back, forcing air back into the male's lungs. "Zabadogim Khajima." She whispered, then her mind caught up with the translation.

Throne gift. It was an old tradition, coming down to the nobles and the main dwarven families. But it had started, in ancient times, solely for the royal lineage. It no longer meant that it was used strictly by those near the throne, but once ...but once it had.

Kili. Fili. No. No, no, no! That wild thought was preposterous! Fanciful wishing on her part. She looked from Bofur to Dern, then back at Fili and his proud bearing. Regal bearing.

Was that even possible?

She bit her lip and looked over at Dern. That damned dwarf raised one eyebrow at her and nodded. Huakil shook her head slightly. Dern nodded meaningfully.

Suddenly the elderly dwarrowdam had to grip the arms of her seat that Dern had brought in for the two elders.

Fili and Kili. Brothers. Not with stolen names, but their very own. Durin's Folk. In her town. Before her eyes. Huakil closed her gaping mouth, gripping the arm rest until her knuckles turned white. Of course. Who else but royalty would dare meet, woo, and marry an elf? Who would chance the king's ire?

King.

Huakil nearly fainted as she realized that if Kili was the younger, then Fili was ... "King?"

Ulwin looked lost, he hadn't kept up with her speeding thoughts. "What?"

Fili shook his head. "Dain is King Under the Mountain." His voice rang with finality.

Huakil wanted to argue the point, but bit her tongue. She shot a look back at Dern, and that damnable dwarf nodded at her again! How was this even possible? These two heirs were supposed to be dead and buried! Joy burst open inside of her and her grin fairly stretched her wrinkles out.

Ulwin pointed at the gift that Kili was lovingly fastening around Tauriel's neck. The mithral links shaped themselves to the smooth, creamy skin, shining like the precious metal that it was. Tears filled the corners of Huakil's eyes as she put her hand over Ulwin's, pushing his inquiry down as she shushed him.

Fili cleared his throat, nodding to his brother. "Kili, murkhith aburuf." He spoke in the dwarves ancient, and secret language. Naming his brother the 'shield that is young' and calling upon him to name his ancestors.

The dark-haired prince drew up straight, no hint of a smile now. To dwarves, nothing was more serious than naming and claiming their pasts, and thus, themselves. "I am Kili, last of Durin's Line. Brother to Fili, first of Durin's Line."

Huakil held her breath, and kept the other poor elder from falling out of his chair as Ulwin finally made the connections.

"I am son of Dis. I am son of Vihili." Here the line diverted from their father, only because their mother's celebrated bloodline took precedence.

"I am sister-son of Thorin II known as Oakenshield, once King Under the Mountain. Sister-son of Frerin, beloved hero. Grandson of Thrain II. Greatgrandson of Thror, High King of Erebor and eldest of Dain I. Son of Nain II, son of Oin, son of Gloin, son of Thorin I." Kili's voice rang with conviction and pride. "Son of Thrain I. Son of Nain I. Son of Durin VI."

A tear tracked down Huakil's cheek, clouding her vision. Ulwin, nudged her with his elbow and she reached over, accepting his spare handkerchief. When she glanced over at him, his own tears were falling unchecked. A sob escaped her, though she was trying to choke it back.

The ancestry continued as they all listened with dignity. "Durin IV, leader in the last great Alliance of Men, Dwarves and Elves. Son of ..."

Huakil nodded, listening to the rise and fall of Kili's voice. Pride filled her. Pride of her line, her kings, her history. Then a glint of light played off the mithral necklace around Tauriel's throat. It was no mere chain. But a lattice-work of stunning beauty and craftmanship. Fit for a queen.

An Elf. Married to the last of Durin's line. Huakil had a sudden moment of doubt. If the two produced children, would they even be dwarves? She shot a look at Fili, who seemed to be beaming with pride as he watched his brother recite their ancestors.

Durin's Line. It was through this bloodline, that the reanimation of Durin the Deathless was to be born. The legends said Durin would come seven times, and this had come to pass six times over. Each with the memories of the previous incarnation. Huakil stifled her sudden nerves as she eyed the red-headed elf. Could Durin return in the generations stemming from this mixed blood?

It had been a horrid blow to all dwarves when word had reached them that Durin's Line had been severed completely. Was it right to keep the news that the line thrived still a secret? Or to let that blood mix with the race of another?

A slight movement, nothing major, caught the dwarrowdam's attention and her gaze moved from the elf to the groom's elder brother.

Fili.

Huakil's nerves settled a bit. Fili was a dwarf in his prime. And the eldest. The Rayadel, which meant the heir of all heirs. Just as Thorin had once been. It would be through his line that the last of Durin's reanimations would eventually be born into Middle Earth.

Yet. With only two true heirs living, could they afford to wed one off to an Elf?

As if reading her mind, Fili's eyes slid over to her. What she saw there, had her swallowing whatever might have tickled her tongue into saying something foolish. Whatever she might have said, died unspoken in her mind. Huakil had no trouble reading Fili's emotions. She had interfered too much already. This wedding was taking place.

"Son of Durin III, bearer of the first of the Seven Rings of the Dwarf Lords. Holder of the Axe and Hammer." Kili intoned with deep honor and pride, listing the accomplishments of the third reanimation of Durin.

Kili's voice continued. Durin's Line wasn't short, after all. Countless generations. His words never stumbled, he never searched his brain for a name out of reach. This list of ancestors stretched all the way back to the First Age.

"Son of Durin the Deathless. Eldest of the Seven Brothers. Created by Aule and Vala. The Longbeard Father. Founder of Khazad-dum."

When Kili ceased speaking, no one dared to interrupt the silence that fell over the room. No one wanted to intrude on the moment or break the mood.

Finally, it was Kili himself who gave his brother a telling look, widening his eyes in an effort to move things along.

Fili nodded.

But before he could call for the wedding vows, Ulwin stood up. The older male dwarf was still in his prime, only 220. He was an elder, but still strong.

Fili waited for the male to say what was on his mind. Curious to the possible reactions.

When Ulwin dropped down to one knee, however, Fili frowned sharply with surprise. He shook his head in denial. "No."

Huakil cleared her throat, hoping she wouldn't start crying. So undignified. "May we ask why?"

Why can we not proclaim you alive? Why are you not at Erebor? Why are you not King Under the Mountain. Why are you here?

So many why's, there wasn't enough time to ask them all.

Fili shook his head again. "Dain is King Under the Mountain. That is all you need to know."

Ulwin didn't look up and Fili sighed while Kili appeared uncertain.

"We made vows not to return." Kili spoke up quietly. "The Line of Durin is effectively dead."

Huakil made a wordless protest at that as Ulwin winced from where he still knelt.

Fili walked over and put his hand on the kneeling elder's shoulder. "We can't change who we are. But prophecy and far sight are involved. Wizards and warriors. War might gain us a throne, and lose us our entire race. Please, brother dwarf. Rise."

Ulwin rose, but obviously with great reluctance. "I see now why this can not be spoken of." He dared to meet Fili's eyes. "Does King Dain know?"

Fili gave a swift denial with a shake of his head.

Huakil sighed. Could this be real? Or were they fools? Yet. Her eyes greedily drank in the presence of he who should be her king. It felt right. And Kili? Marrying an elf? Surely this could not be a mistake. Making up her mind, the dwarrowdam slapped her thigh sharply. "Come. We have a wedding to finish."

Kili started to step forward, but was stopped by Tauriel. He raised his eyebrows at her. Surely she wasn't hesitating?

The she-elf smiled at him. The red-head spoke in Khuzdul, stating that she was going to recite her own ancestry. Pleased, Kili smiled encouragingly. "I do not yet know your language well enough, nor do the names translate. I will have to speak in Elvish."

Fili nodded his approval, as did the rest of the witnessing dwarves. "You are doing well with our language." He waved at her to procede.

Tauriel began speaking, her voice rich and full as she recited her personal history. The language was beautiful, even if Kili was the only one to understand even part of it. The words tripped lyrically from her mouth, sounding almost like music.

Soon though, she finished. Huakil shifted in her seat, a slight frown on her face. "Already finished?" She felt a bit bad for Tauriel. Kili's line had traced directly back to the First Age.

The red-head smiled benignly. "It's as far back as Kili's. Just with far fewer generations."

Huakil's face flushed, she hadn't thought of that. When compared to the nearly immortal, dwarven history would take longer to list!

"Can I marry her now?" The dark-haired groom grinned, taking his bride's hand.

Fili gave a quick laugh, nodding. "Yes, yes you can finally marry her, brother."

Kili tugged on his love's hand, urging her to stand. Tauriel hesitated, not wanting to put him at a height disadvantage. He grinned at her teasingly. "Stand. Please."

The red-headed bride stood, looking down into Kili's meltingly dark gaze. His smile was wide and open as his eyes traced her face. "Heart of my heart, I ask you to ever stand at my side. My eyes see you in the dark, and in the light. My lips taste your name and rejoices. The gems of the deep can not be more precious to me than when your eyes look upon me. I give to you my treasures, my house and my blood for your safekeeping. The strength of my arms are yours, never shall my heart falter. I will ever strive to make sure you never regret your choice."

Tauriel's heart sped up. She'd known that this was the traditional opening vow only because the dwarrowdams had shared it with her earlier. She also knew her answer was not scripted, not like the groom. She was on her own.

Tauriel could sense more than see, the others in the room leaning forward, eager to hear her response.

"I am an Elf. I find treasure and joy in the light, the stars and the forests. You are a Dwarf. Our peoples do not always see eye to eye." Kili grinned at the humor, since they would never see eye to eye unless he was standing on a chair.

Tauriel continued, her gaze warm and loving upon his dear face. "Everything about you is foreign to me. Never would I have thought that someone so different would come to mean so very much. Your laughter sings to my heart. Your smile warms me to the marrow. Your eyes rival the starlight."

Kili's smile faded into one of utter longing as he listened.

"You did not ask me to leave my home for you. But what you may not realize, is that I didn't leave my home. The world changed when we met, when our hearts recognized each other. Wherever you are, that is my home now."

Huakil felt tears at the corners of her eyes as she listened and watched.

"You asked me a question once." The red-head smiled gently.

Kili startled a bit, then gave a hoarse chuckle of acknowledgement. 'Do you think she could have loved me?'

"I tell you now ...you were not dreaming. And my answer is, and will always remain, yes."

For a long moment, everyone remained silent and happy. Then abruptly, Kili let out a wordless war cry, a victory shout. Height differences be damned, dwarven strength overcomes all. The dark-haired groom wrapped one arm around Tauriel's slender waist and swept her completely off her feet.

Startled, the red head could feel the heavy braided loops stiking her shoulders and neck as she suddenly found herself at a forty-five degree angle to the ground. Blinking up wide-eyed into Kili's madly grinning face, her hands on his shoulders to keep from falling.

Only, she wasn't falling. His strength held her as if she weighed nothing, even though her body was supported by only one of his arms behind her back. This position should have been awkward, with her so tall, but his burly strength gave grace to the sudden move.

Green eyes met dark ones, and the gaze lingered. Gently, he leaned in to kiss her as her lashes batted closed like butterfly wings.

Dern stumbled, as the door behind him shifted and others tried to push their way inside. He dug in his heels and leaned back against the door, extending his elbow to bang on the door behind him in an underhanded move. "Nothing wrong here. All is good!"

Huakil laughed through her wet eyes and shook her head. All was indeed good.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The lineage of Durin is correct, and if there are mistakes I apologize. The reference to Durin reanimating every several generations, is canon and not mine. The wedding ceremony, throne gift, and vows are mine. Some inspiration was taken from researching morganatic marriages thanks to BORYS68, though I changed a lot (a whole lot) for story purposes and my own whims. The Khuzdul word for 'historians' was accurate, but the meaning was tailored by me for this chapter


	25. Dancing About

Tauriel collapsed into a chair, out of breath and laughing with no sound because she her lungs were almost empty of air. She waved a hand in front of her reddened face. "Is the room spinning, or my head?"

"Both." An unrepentant Kili leaned in so close to her she could smell the ale on his breath. That should have been a bad thing, but for tonight? There were no bad things.

"Husband." She looked up at him, her gaze all soft and starry.

This time it was Kili who stopped breathing, then he grinned widely and planted a big smacking kiss on her lips. "Wife. One more dance!"

"You said that three dances ago!" She moaned heavily, leaning her head back in mock despair ruined by her smile.

Kili tugged on her arm, drawing her half-way out of her chair despite herself. "I won't step on your toes this time."

"Liar." She sighed, closing her green eyes. That didn't help, her balance still felt off. "I don't know these dances, I keep putting my feet in the wrong places! And I think I may be a bit drunk."

"I'm thinking you just got married." Kili slipped an arm around her waist and managed to half drag, half pull her to her feet. He looked up into her beautiful face. "And I'm thinking that I want to dance with you!"

Tauriel dug in her heels, shaking her head. Heavy braids of her long red-hair slapping against her neck and shoulders. Dwarven style braids. For the Dwarven wedding. "Mmm ...married. Oh, I think the song ended." She shrugged apologetically, not really meaning it. "I think a small break might ..."

Kili frowned for a second, then perked up as heavy boots began stomping out a fast tattoo on the floorboards. The rythmic stomping filled the room. "I love this dance!" He tugged on her again.

Tauriel laughed helplessly, letting herself be tugged out onto the dance floor again. Only to have her foot stepped on immediately, twirling in time to the music while trying not to limp at the same time.

Fili watched all this with deep amusement, but nearly choked on his ale as he saw Kili make a face at his bride, taunting her. He did choke when Tauriel got angry and deliberately stomped on Kili's foot in retaliation.

Beside him, Bofur winced. "He's wearing thick boots, she's in slippers. How did she think that was going to work?"

"She's going to have at least one broken toe by the end of the night." Fili mused.

Bofur stroked his mustache. "Three silver against. Elves are hardier than that."

Fili stuck out his hand and Bofur shook it. "Thank you for your contribution." The blond grinned widely.

"No warning either of them. That'd be cheating." Bofur drank deeply from his own mug.

The dwarven prince grinned and shrugged. "No cheating." He agreed. "That means you can't bribe the musicians into playing only slower tunes."

Bofur frowned and gave a 'who me?' look to the young blond dwarf. "Now laddie, speaking of not warning someone ...can we'un discuss the tampered cake you gave me to eat?"

"Wasn't tampered with." Fili blew off the comment as of no account. But his attention was now diverted. He looked around the room, but couldn't spot Teldu. "I want cake."

"You'n didn't know it wasn't tampered with, fact is you did think it'd been messed with." Bofur pouted, for no one pouts like a less than sober dwarf. He peered out on the dance floor and cheered when Tauriel managed to pull her feet, and skirts, out of the way as Kili performed a rather eratic looking turn before stomping his feet and swinging his arms in a wide arc. "I hate that the lass had to put away your gift before coming out here."

"Shhhh." Fili turned to look back at Bofur, putting his finger over his lips. He didn't need the general world to know that Tauriel had a mithral necklace of all things, or that he'd given it to her as a throne-gift. There was no need to advertise wealth, and attract unwanted attention.

Bofur pointed across the room. "There she is. Lovely lass, that."

Fili spun so quickly the beads in his mustache lightly struck him just above his chin. It took a moment for his vision to focus in. "Cleadeth?"

"Hmmm." Bofur rocked back and forth on his heels.

"You like her?" Fili sounded shocked. "She's a bit young, but if you're interested ..."

"Interested for you laddie. For you." Bofur pointed in the dwarf-maiden's direction.

Fili drew up, his eyes intense. "That's so kind of you."

Bofur nodded solemnly. "It is, it is kind of me."

"A true gentle-dwarf you are." Fili gave a polite nod of his head even as he turned his nose upward.

The toy-maker snickered, then grinned as he pointed at Fili. "You don't want her." He guessed.

Fili turned puppy-eyes on the older dwarf. "If I wanted a way to die of boredom, I'd take her."

"She's lovely beyond passing." The toy-maker commented, trying to weed out Fili's true thoughts on the matter.

The blond frowned. "If I wanted something pretty to put on a shelf and collect dust."

Bofur shook his head sadly. "Not kind, laddie. Not kind."

Fili shrugged and looked over at the younger of Dern's daughters. "She's not lacking for company." He pointed out, seeing more than a few bachelor dwarves surrounding the pretty maid.

"Good competition." The hatted dwarf pointed out helpfully.

Fili frowned, he did like a good competition. "Not wanting the prize." He finally admitted.

Bofur shoved the younger male in the shoulder. "Well then, what do you want?" He asked the leading question and pointed over toward the large cake, more than three quarters gone. Perhaps the older sister was more the blond's preference then.

Fili's eyes brightened. "Cake. Yes. That I want." His mouth watered. "Is that sneaky-assed baker around?"

"Sneaky-assed?" Bofur looked shocked as he repeated the words. "But lad, wouldn't you rather have the baker, and no I'm not commenting on the state of her ass - than the cake?"

Fili stared longingly at the cake, and the victory it represented. "Cake. I want cake." He frowned sharply. "And you shouldn't be looking at her ass."

Bofur shut his eyes in sudden clarity of understanding. "Do you just want to win? Or is there more?"

"I just want a damnable piece of chocolate cake." Fili managed not to whine, barely.

"Well, go get one then." Bofur waved over at the serving area. "Most are dancing right now'n. Way is clear."

Fili shook his head, looking determined. "The way is not clear. It's a trap."

Bofur blinked rapidly several times and then shook his head while laughing. "You've got it bad laddie. Bad. There'll be another wedding here soon enough." He sounded pleased with himself.

"Bite your tongue, toy-maker." Fili's eyes narrowed on his target. "I have no intention of marrying Cleadeth. Now, watch my back. I'm going for cake. I have a great idea!"

Bofur whistled to himself as he watched Fili walk as if aimless, like a dwarf who only 'happened' to be walking near the table where the cake was being served. "Wrong lass, dwarfling. Wrong lass."

Fili whistled as he passed the cake table, his eyes scanning the crowd of guests. It didn't take long to pinpoint his target. With a grin he turned sharply, taking not one but three plates. The dwarrow handing them out gave him a cross look, which Fili blatantly ignored.

"The cake must be really good. That one has been coming back for more all night."

Fili's eyes flinched, but he never lost his smile as he ignored everyone else. He headed right toward his target and smiled, looking like the predator he was.

Teldu blinked her pale-blue eyes at him, standing next to her parents. Dern looked at Fili and then thanked him as the blond dwarf handed him a slice of cake.

"No, thank you." Nurbera smiled prettily, running one hand over an ample hip. "I've had two slices already. I couldn't possibly."

Fili shook his head, smiling with utmost charm. "You're nothing but a rail. You should eat."

Nurbera blushed becomingly, but waved off the offer of cake. So Fili inclined his head toward Teldu and offered her the cake slice. Caught, the apprentice baker accepted without batting an eye. "Thank you, dwarrow."

Fili's eyes narrowed on her use of an extremely generic title rather than his name. Dern shifted his weight, a bit nervous at the byplay between the two younger dwarves. "The wedding is a great success!" He announced.

"Yes it is. Thank you." Fili said, though his eyes never left that of a certain dwarf-maiden. "Have any more of those candied flower petals? I haven't had the chance." His voice was very nearly a purr.

Teldu eyed the blond carefully, but finally nodded slowly.

He had her. She could not pull a stunt in front of her own parents, not to the host. The result of such an insult had often led to huge quarrels and blood shed. Dwarves were not a forgiving race, even among their own kind. Slights were remembered.

Fili watched as Teldu pulled out a small bag and pulled out something which she held in a closed grip. She held her hand out over her father's plate, and he complied by holding it out.

"Looks delicious." The dwarf prince smiled evilly, on the verge of winning the night.

Teldu repeated the process over Fili's slice of cake, and then her own.

"Oh now." Fili's eyes fairly sparkled with glee. "Nurbera, please. Please take one more slice of cake. You can dance it all off, I promise. One more won't hurt you."

Dern's wife couldn't keep from smiling as she accepted the plate. "But what about you, Fili?"

The blond shrugged, still smiling. He held up a fork and took a large piece off of Teldu's plate. "We youngsters don't mind sharing, do we?"

Teldu's lips fairly quivered and she didn't answer. Instead she shook her head.

Fili watched Teldu carefully as Nurbera took a generous bite of her cake. Wasn't she going to stop her mother? The dwarrowdam closed her eyes happily, savoring the taste of the chocolate cake. "Daughter, you have done so well. This is absolutely delicious."

Dimples wilted as Fili's smile faded. Nothing had been wrong with his piece of cake? Oh. He'd overestimated her resolve and cleverness. Damn. How disappointing somehow.

Absently, he the bite on his own fork. Sweetness burst in his mouth, an instant before the heat hit.

Fili's eyes immediately watered and he was having a horrid time not spitting out the food in his mouth. Awkwardly he swallowed, feeling it burn all the way down.

"Everything alright?" Teldu asked with supreme sweetness.

The dwarven prince fought hard to keep his expression even and without reaction. Moisture gathered in the corners of his eyes as fire danced over his tongue and throat.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"That's seven ales in a row, laddie." Bofur watched worriedly as the two males sat in the kitchen.

Fili wiped the sweat from his forehead, grimacing as he stuck out his tongue. "Iwt till thurnth."

"What?" Bofur scratched his head, trying to translate as he mouthed the words. "It still burns?"

The blond nodded and shuddered, holding out his mug pitiously.

Bofur refilled him before heading over to a larger keg and in turn refilling the pitcher. "Eight. At this rate you won't be able to send off your'n own brother."

Fili sighed, draining his mug. "Ater don werk." He hiccuped unhappily.

Chuckling, Bofur walked back to the table as Fili leaned his forehead on the cool wood, moaning. He held up his empty mug in supplication. The toy-maker refilled it quickly. "Water doesn't soothe burns from spicy foods, you're right." The older male grinned. "Milk does better than ale though."

"Ale." Insisted the pride-wounded younger dwarf.

"How did she get you?" Bofur asked, hoping that with nine ales in him, the lad wouldn't take offense at the question.

Bleary eyed, Fili managed to look up.

Bofur smothered a laugh. It wouldn't be good to show how amused he was by the prince's downfall.

Fili's eyes narrowed dangerously, then he grimaced and smacked his lips. "Damn."

It must still burn. Bofur held out the pitcher of ale and Fili nodded as the toy-maker obliged him with a tenth mug. When the blond finished drinking he turned, and nearly slipped out of his chair.

"Milk next." Bofur said dryly.

Fili's stomach rumbled in protest of the thought. He gagged.

Bofur backed away quickly.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Uh oh. Get ready." Kili leered, looking around at the other dwarves slowly maneuvering their way around the newly married couple.

"Ready? For what?" Tauriel blinked, spinning around to see what was going on.

Kili winked at her. "To be carried off. Oh. This isn't an attack, don't hit any of the wedding guests please."

Carried off? Oh. The red-headed bride smiled. This was the end of the wedding for she and Kili. The rest of the guests would continue to dance and drink and celebrate until nearly dawn. But the bride and groom were escorted to the wedding chamber first.

"You go left." Kili whispered from the corner of his mouth, grinning madly.

Left? What did he mean? Tauriel's green eyes widened as two stocky dwarves lunged for Kili. Her beloved shrieked happily and jumped out of the way, feigning one way and then going the other.

"Lass? Aren't you going to run?" Tauriel looked at the expectant faces surrounding her. A wild idea burst into her brain and as much as she wanted to deny it, it looked like she'd misconstrued what was about to happen.

"Am I supposed to run?"

At least four of the dwarves grinned at her. And if she wasn't mistaken, two of them were cousins of Dern although she couldn't currently recall their names.

"Kili told me to go right." She said aloud. Several stepped to bar her way and Tauriel swiftly slipped between the others, going left. Groans and shouts of glee followed her closely.

The she-elf moved through the crowded room, with several humans pointing and laughing at avenues of escape ...or capture. A young dwarrow jumped in her way, his arms wide. He lost his grin as Tauriel hurdled over him, her slipper using his shoulder to push off of as she caught the stair newel and changed directions sharply.

Whistles of approval and wonder followed her as she neared the kitchen. Relieved, she saw Bofur and Fili standing there. Tauriel frowned. Bofur was standing, Fili looked like he was propped up against the wall.

"Is he alright?" She asked Bofur, sliding to a halt in front of the duo.

"Aye lassie!" Bofur made a wild gesture for her to turn to the side quickly.

Tauriel slid to the right, just as two heavy males, one human and one dwarf slammed into the wall. Well, into Fili, who was leaning against the wall. All three fell to the ground, moaning.

It took a while, but Tauriel started to see a pattern in this wild chase. They weren't looking to capture the bride and groom so much as herd them. Upstairs. Laughing, she twisted away from reaching hands and leapt over the stair well just as Kili turned the corner running up toward her.

"Go! Go!" The groom's delighted laughter followed her as she rushed into their bed chamber and watched as Kili slammed and barred the door. Several fist pounded heavily on the door, but all in good nature rather than threat.

Breathing slightly harder, Tauriel looked around their chamber. It hadn't looked like this earlier.

The bed was turned down and looked soft and inviting. Candles were lit everywhere and a cheery fire was laid out in the room's fireplace. A bottle of wine with two glasses sat on a small table next to a generous platter of small nibble sized foods.

Tauriel turned around, taking in all the small details and embelishments meant to make the wedding night special. Her heart warmed to think of their new neighbors going to so much trouble for them.

"I used to think that dwarves were cold creatures."

Genuinely surprised, Kili cocked his head to one side as he uncorked the wine bottle. Blinking with weariness, it had been a long day and night. "Why?"

Tauriel yawned heavily as she sat on the side of the bed, watching him pour her a glass. "I never really knew any dwarves before. But the ones I'd seen were always silent, always weighing anything said to them, and never smiling."

Kili grinned. "Well, in public, maybe. We like to keep to ourselves."

The red-headed elf accepted the glass he handed her with pleasure. "The humans here in Brookshire seemed shocked that dwarves they've known their entire lives could even smile. Much less all of this ..." She waved her hand in general.

The dark-haired groom chuckled, shrugging. "It's just our way." He grinned cheekily at her. "Change your mind about us yet?"

Tauriel laughed, sipping the fine wine with pleasure. "About some of you."

"Some of us?" He teased, leaning into her space.

"One of you especially."

Kili's lips captured hers, but she offered no resistance, opening her mouth eagerly for him. Long, long minutes later Kili took her glass of wine from her, draining it. "The bed is still too short for you."

Tauriel shrugged, running her hands through his wavy dark hair.

"Up." Kili demanded, then put the wine glasses down, before grasping the edge of the mattress and pulling it off the bed in one pull. On the floor, it might be the same size, but at least the headboard and footboards wouldn't bang her up any.

"Much better." Tauriel sighed.

"I'll get to making that new bed as soon as possible." Kili promised her, his dark eyes lovingly tracing her outline. He reached for her.

"Wait!" Tauriel held up one hand, startling her new husband. "I need to change clothes."

Kili blinked, confused before a leer spread across his face. "I'll help you take off your dress."

Tauriel laughed and moved out of his reach. Kili pouted at her, laughter behind his lips barely held in check. "Chase is over. Come here."

She nearly did, responding to the love and need in his hoarse voice. Instead she backed away. "I have a gift that Mirrenda gave me. I want to put it on for you."

Kili leaned back, and gave her an odd look. "Humans wear clothing on their wedding nights? Aren't we supposed to be taking off clothes, not adding to our layers?"

Tauriel laughed at his expression of concern. "It's to entice you."

The dark-eyes of her groom lit up. "Oh, I'm enticed. I'm enticed already." He stepped toward her, only to stop as she held up one hand and shook her head. "Tauriel?" It was a plea. "Love?"

"You'll like this gift." Tauriel promised, heading toward the attached sitting room. As she closed the door she could hear mumbling under his breath about stupid human customs.

Kili yawned and looked around the room. He blinked his eyes and slapped one side of his face lightly. He was definitely exhausted. The whirlwind of decision, planning, hunting, cleaning, worry, stress, and then the additional avalanche of emotion from the wedding vows ...followed by a lot of eating and drinking ... he just hoped he could perform well tonight. Male, and dwarven, pride depended on it!

Tauriel ran her hands over the lovely creation of lace and silk, the white material slipping smoothly through her fingers as she held it. A smile played over her face as she thought of Kili seeing her in it for the first time.

Careful not to dislodge any of the multitude of dwarven braids and pins of all different sizes, Tauriel pulled off her dress. It took some doing considering her general inebriation. Her balance was good, but just off enough that she had to hold one hand on a chair to steady herself. The undertunic was a problem, being generally tighter. The laces caught on her braids.

Tauriel briefly thought of just yanking off the undertunic, but didn't want to disrupt her wedding hairstyle. These were dwarven braids for her dwarven husband, and she'd sat for two hours with gossiping dwarrowdams to get her hair done up right. Ruining it was NOT an option!

For a second or two she considered ripping up the undertunic with her knife. Only her knife was on the table behind her and the undertunic was covering her face and eyes. Not that she couldn't find it, more like she was too tired to go and get it.

Before she was forced to choose between her hair and her clothing, the tugging worked and the cloth slipped free from her head. It was nothing to pull it off her arms.

The nude red-head held up the white confection of lace and silk, grinning even as she gave a jaw cracking yawn. She eyed the slender column of the gown. Normally not a problem.

Tonight. Braids.

"Damn." Tauriel muttered, wondering how dwarrowdams navigated dressing and undressing with such ungainly sweeping updos. That was just one more question that she'd not thought of to ask when she'd had the chance.

Instead of pulling the gown down over her head, she stepped into it and nearly lost her balance before her hand found that convenient chair again. Shimmying, she wiggled her way into the gown and then awkwardly pushed her arms through the straps and tugging it up inch by inch until it was in place.

Tauriel smiled, running her hands down the creamy white silk and turned to stare at the full length mirror that Kili had insisted that she have. Staring, the she-elf went still.

The gown was see-through. Nearly transparent, why she could make out the color of her nipples through the material. The sheer nature of the silken threads, complimented by peek-a-boo lace meant that there was little left covered.

Tauriel wasn't considered a great beauty, not like the Elven Queens of old. But she'd always considered herself an attractive elf. Yet never had she seen herself thus.

With her hair braided and out of the way, piled in tight, hanging loops, her neck now appeared almost impossibly long and delicate.

Blinking, the bride suddenly smiled. She'd snuck up here earlier and had hidden the throne-gift that Fili had given her. The red head knelt next to a certain floorboard, passing her hands over a clever contraption that Bofur had explained to her. A certain sequence had a the board popping up. From there she extracted the precious mithral necklace.

Tauril had a bit of a time with the clasp, unused to wearing much jewelry. It was a few long minutes before she was able to turn the necklace around on her neck and finally look in the mirror.

Her breath caught. Tonight. She was beautiful. Maybe not a Queen of old, but a beaty nontheless. And a bride. She smiled happily at her reflection. "Kili?" She called out, figuring that she'd made him wait long enough.

The red head slipped into the bedroom, eager to catch his expression when he first saw her like this. She didn't see him.

Frowning, Tauriel stepped around the empty bed-frame, and started laughing.

Her eager groom was laid out on their mattress, on the floor. The only clothing he'd managed to remove was his boots. He was sound asleep. Out.

Tauriel knelt beside him, kissing him along his cheekbone. She could wake him up. "Uhmmm." She moaned, feeling the heat radiating off of him. She snuggled in close, wrapping her arms around her dwarven husband. "Kili. Wake up."

She kissed his chin, loving the feel of his stubbly whiskers rubbing her smooth skin. Snuggling, she reveled in his presence, his heat, his scent.

His arms moved around her and she smiled against his neck. Victory. She nuzzled him as he held her and it took her a moment to realize that he was still asleep.

A moment later, so was she.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Cleadeth sashayed up to him. Fili snorted, holding his napkin to his bloodied nose. Sashaying. Who really did that? He wondered. "Hurt?"

The dwarven prince glanced up at her pretty face. "No. I'm bleeding for no reason."

Cleadeth's smile slipped a bit.

Fili hesitated. She wasn't a bad sort, just too sheltered. A bit shallow. "I'm fine, really. Someone's elbow accidently found my nose when we were sending off my brother and his wife. Thank you for checking on me."

The smile turned back on full force. "I brought you a piece of cake, there's only a few pieces left and Mr. Bofur said you might like one."

"Bofur has a twisted and cruel sense of humor." Mumbled Fili.

"What?" Cleadeth leaned in toward him, giving him a nice glance at a creamy expanse of skin and a hint of cleavage.

Fili admired the view. She wasn't for him, but it was still a nice damned view. "Nothing."

"Here." Cleadeth handed him the cake, but he put it down on the step next to him. She gave him a laughing look. "You can't sleep on the staircase."

Fili didn't feel like moving. He glanced around the area. Dawn would be but a few moments away. A successful party and a great wedding. He grunted happily. Most of the guests had left, only a few were staggering out the door. "Where is Bofur?"

"Under the cake table, passed out by now I think." Giggled Cleadeth.

Fili winced. A giggler.

Luckily Nurbera snagged her daughter as she directed Dern to collect his cousins who were leaning against a table holding the last remaining keg of ale. He eyed the keg, wondering if his legs would make a journey that far.

"Finally got a piece of cake."

Fili looked up. "Teldu." He gave her a sharp look. "Did you kill this piece of cake yet?"

"No." She picked up the plate and dug a fork into it. Those pale-blue eyes looked at him for a long moment. Then she held out the bite of dessert.

"I don't trust you." He said dryly. "My mouth is still burning I think."

"Frosting will help with that." She assured him.

His gaze zeroed in on her, trying to come to a decision if this was another trick.

Teldu wiggled the fork lightly. The scent of rich chocolate teased his nose. Fili shook his head. "I think you burned off all by taste buds."

She laughed. He growled.

Teldu wiggled the spoon again. He put his mouth around it without warning, catching her a bit by surprise.

Fili watched her watch him, her utensil in his mouth. Chocolate frosting coated his abused tongue and sweetness exploded. He closed his eyes and moaned happily. Slowly she pulled the fork from his mouth, as if trying to move out of the way of a dangerous predator.

He opened his eyes and looked at her lazily. "I'm going to win. I always win."

Teldu suddenly felt unsure of herself, losing some of her natural confidence. It lasted but a second. Her shoulders straightened. "I am not a game to be played with."

"I've faced wizards and queens, mountains and streams, dragons and gold, kings and trolls. I've faced orcs and ..."

"Are you actually comparing me to goblins and trolls?" Teldu asked huffily.

Fili smiled at her. "Hadn't gotten to the goblins yet. But with your temper, there's a definite similarity."

Teldu stared at him, gritted her teeth and finding nothing to say, turned her nose up at him and walked away with what little dignity she could muster up.

Fili watched her go, liking the unpracticed swing of her hips. He grinned. Then he realized she'd taken the rest of the chocolate cake slice with her.

"Damn it all!" He whined.


	26. Twelve

Bright morning light through the window woke a certain elf. Tauriel blinked twice, focusing her vision. Elves didn't usually sleep so deeply. Some of the High Elves actually rarely slept at all, or so it was whispered among the Silvan.

Tauriel reached for her husband, but his spot was empty. Warm though. Blinking, she sat up. Something felt ...wrong.

Bright laughter had her turning her head to see Kili standing next to the tray of food bites that had been left for the newly married couple only last night. He'd woken before her?

Kili grinned at her, a gorgeous sight that had her heart speeding up. He'd finally taken off his heavier tunic and fine leathers. Now he was barefoot and shirtless, wearing only trousers of the highest quality leather embossed with threads of precious metals.

Must be a dwarf thing.

Not that she couldn't appreciate the view. Tauriel started to lean forward, and stopped. Something still felt ...odd.

Kili pointed to the side of his head, grinning as he then pointed to her. "You have something there."

Puzzled, Tauriel put her hand to the side of her face and couldn't. There was a decorative lace pillow in the way. She tugged, it didn't budge, somehow it was attached to her now.

Kili moved in next to his new bride, peering at the problem. He smirked and she frowned at him. "You have too many pins in your hair. They got caught."

Pins? Oh. Tauriel's green eyes closed in resignation. "The braids." Recalling how she'd spent two hours yesterday having her long red hair plaited for the occasion.

Her husband tried to be gentle as he disentangled her hair from the captured lace pillow, but a few tugs were inevitable. Tauriel let him pull her free without comment. Instead she leaned forward as he worked and bit him gently on the shoulder.

Kili's movements stopped and his dark eyes turned to her, a grin spreading across his handsome face. "There's food over there." He teased.

"I'd rather have you." She told him the plain truth. Then she frowned as her stomach growled a bit. "Or I'd rather have you for dessert."

Her dark-haired husband's grin widened with delight as he pulled the last few pins from the pillow and pulled it completely away. "Done!" Kili leaned back and looked at her, then his grin turned into outright laughter.

Tauriel put her hands to her hair, groaning as she realized the braids were no longer neat and tidy loops and ropes of hair. But was escaping their confines and sticking out in every direction.

"Go get me something to eat." She snapped, her green eyes flashing at him in irritation. Her fingers went to her head and she started pulling out the rest of the pins holding her hair more or less in place.

Kili didn't move fast enough for her, or he was laughing at her a bit too much. She kicked him lightly and he shifted out of the way, moving over to get up off the mattress still lying on the floor.

Tauriel begin the tedious job of untangling her hair and pulling loose the braids that had taken so long yesterday before the wedding. Wedding. She lost her frown in bemusement. "Husband."

"Wife." Kili acknowledged with a great deal of pride as he poured her a large cup of water. "Here, we're probably both dehydrated. How's your head?"

"Tangled." Tauriel said wryly.

Kili chuckled at that and set her water down next to her on the floor. "No, I meant from drinking last night. Any headache?"

Tauriel twisted her neck and turned her head. "Not really. I do feel well rested."

"Sorry about that." Kili grimaced. "I guess I really messed the wedding night up, falling asleep."

Tauriel gifted him with a tender smile. "I wasn't much better." She admitted. "Your head alright?"

Kili shrugged. "Dwarves are hardy folk."

Tauriel's eyes narrowed on him, it seemed too easy an answer. "Oh?"

The dark-haired dwarf then winked. "And someone, probably Fili, left me something to take in case I needed it." He nodded toward the platter of food. "There's more if you need something."

"Smart dwarf, your brother." Tauriel finally loosened her last braid. It took far less time to undo than it had yesterday to put it all up. She finger combed her hair and stood, stretching and loving the feel of the sun shining on her through the window at her back.

Kili, sensing her movement, turned to offer her something from the platter. Whatever tidbit he'd been holding, fell unheeded to the floor. His mouth dropped open in shock.

Tauriel's eyebrows rose as she watched his reaction.

"What ..." It was more of a croak than a word. "What are you wearing?" There, that was a sentence, though his voice was sounding hoarse all of a sudden.

The she-elf smiled at him. "Mirrenda's wedding gift. Remember? I was putting it on when you fell asleep."

"I should be run through with an dull axe for that crime." Kili wasn't smiling, he was staring at her with greed.

Teasing him, Tauriel's voice softened. "I thought you said that human traditions were stupid and that I didn't need to be adding layers?"

"Why would you listen to me?" Kili teased back, advancing step by step towards her with a feeling of near reverence. His eyes seemed aglow and she could tell his pants were probably now extremely uncomfortable to him.

Stopping in front of his wife, the dark-haired dwarven prince reached out and ran a finger down the small silk strap to the lace bodice, and down the side of the gown past her hip. He growled at the soft silk. "I can see you through this."

Tauriel couldn't help herself, she'd never felt more beautiful in her entire life than she did when reflected in his eyes. A stream of musical Elvish words fell from her lips.

Kili had been learning her language from her, but she was speaking too quickly for him to catch but a few of the words and mentally translate them. Still, the words he caught were pretty good ones. "Warrior bold?"

Tauriel watched as he reached for the strap of her gown and pushed it aside with one gentle finger so that it fell onto her upper arm. Kili groaned at the sight. "It's an ancient saga. And a declaration of love."

"I caught 'warrior bold' and 'love fires after'." Kili admitted, turning to slowly push the other strap down the other creamy shoulder.

"Warrior bold is right. But it's love burning eternal, though your Elvish improves." She studied the rapt look in his face as he touched just the skin on her shoulder. "What are you thinking?"

Kili's eyes turned to look up at her and she froze in place. His dark gaze was burning with surpressed greed, passion, and something akin to violence. "You don't want to know." He whispered.

Gone was her playful love, this was his need for her stripped down to it's most basic core. Tauriel's skin flamed in instant response. "Show me." She whispered back.

Kili's eyes leapt with joy, but still he held back. "I don't think that ..."

Tauriel leaned in toward him. "Are you my War Hammer of Dwarven design and make ...or not?"

Even having invited him, it was still something of a shock when she was grabbed and dropped down onto the matress. She didn't even have time to gasp before his hands were on her. He literally pounced!

Her only chance for her mind to catch up with her was when he had to pause to yank off his trousers, which took almost no time.

Tauriel stared up into her husband's face as he leaned over her on all fours. She didn't even hesitate as she turned her head, offering him a place. He took it, burying his own dark-haired head in the crook of her neck. His beard stubble rubbed her soft skin, but what maybe should have been painful, wasn't.

His hands bunched up her gown and tugged it up over her hips, she bridged up to help him but that only pressed her chest against his. The thin barrier of lace and silk did not keep her already pebbled nipples from rubbing against his chest hair. She gasped again, trying to catch her breath.

Kili reared back and she made a sound of protest, reaching for him only to throw back her head and arch her back. He didn't wait, but slid into her body in one long thrust that pulled noises from the bottom of her lungs. It was only then that she realized that her body was more than ready for him, despite the lack of his usual foreplay.

Normally Kili loved to touch, tease and taste her. Driving her wild before he would put himself forward. Not this time. This time the need was too great. For both of them.

The pace his hips set was nearly brutal, and she loved it, revelled in it. Her legs wrapped around him as he pushed into her hard and deep and so fast she was having trouble catching her breath. Her fingernails found his strong back as her body accepted his body. Need spiralled upward and it wasn't long before his breathing turned harsh and rasping. Tauriel arched into him, sure that she would be bruised after this. She welcomed the thought.

He was too far gone in the throes of passion to even yell, the grunting noises sounded like they were coming from some creature of the wilds. The she-elf's breathing wasn't much better, coming in small gasps as he pounded his full strength into her without heed. Only the need to be buried within her body seemed to register.

Such a pace and an intensity of need could not last for long. With a hoarse shout and an answering wail, they fell apart into each other. Panting, collapsing, they laid there together, still connected and not quite themselves anymore. As if something basic has been taken down to it's most inner core, and then remade.

It was long moments before Kili shifted and Tauriel protested. He mumbled. "I think our heart beats are synchronized right now."

She swatted his sweaty back, obviously not ready to talk just yet.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Bofur didn't say anything as he looked up from his lunch, catching sight of the newly married couple entering the kitchen.

Fili leaned back and grinned. "Breakfast? Or lunch?"

Kili grinned back sheepishly. "Food. Don't care."

Tauriel looked at the two, but felt no embarrassment. "The main room looks like nothing happened. You two have been up and about."

Bofur grinned and shook his head. "Not me. Fili is the one with the hard head. Which he needs." The toy maker shot a glance over at the blond dwarf.

"Nurbera brought a few over, they helped." Fili blew off the comment. It was true that he wasn't especially prone to morning afters, but this morning he'd had a bit of help. "Our uncle had these powders that help take the edge off after having too much. Oin put them together for him. Mam must have put them in with our things when we were leaving Mirkwood."

At the mention of Thorin, both brothers shared a look of sadness. Kili sighed with regret. "If uncle could only have been here ..."

"There would have been no here to be in." Fili interrupted. "And more than likely no wedding between elf and dwarf."

Kili snorted, dark sadness now tinged with a morbid type of humor. "Do you think he'll come back and haunt me for this?"

Fili grinned. "If he does, warn me. Somehow you marrying an elf will no doubt end up being MY fault in the first place."

Tauriel looked back and forth between the two brothers, sensing this was a familial moment steeped with long history of getting into trouble with their patriarch.

Bofur gave himself a small shake, pushing off the morbid moment. "So lad, now that you're married. Twice. With or without Thorin's say-so. Still planning on courting your lass?"

Kili had walked over to the counter and started to put together two plates. Tauriel moved to help him and he waved her off to sit at the table. "Of course."

The she-elf sat across from Fili who pushed a plate of some sort of cold potato dish toward her. She looked around and Bofur handed her some clean utensils.

"We need to talk about things." Bofur reached over and stuck his own fork into Tauriel's dish, making the beautiful red-head blink in surprise. Fili was the next to take a bite and the she-elf realized belatedly that the blond hadn't given her the potato dish, he'd been offering to share.

Tauriel looked at the males around her and realized that this was the life she'd bargained for when she'd chosen Kili to be her love, to hold her heart. Sharing food wasn't normal for her, but she could adjust. Apparently dwarves came in sets. She smiled at the mental image that thought conjured up.

"Something amusing lass?" Bofur asked curiously, looking at the red-head.

"I married a dwarf." Tauriel's smile only grew.

Fili grinned and nodded. "Twice."

"Once." The she-elf shook her head. "One handfasting and one wedding." Tauriel clarified.

Bofur cleared his throat as Kili returned to the table carrying two large plates filled with cold meats, bread and cheese. "We have only a few weeks before fall will set in."

"Longer than that." Tauriel commented, looking out the window.

"We're not in the woodlands here. This'll be the mountains lass, and fall and winter will'n be here before you'un know it." The toy maker pointed out.

The she-elf paused, realizing that she was indeed farther from her home than she'd ever travelled. And she had never before lived outside of her community. "I've always been part of the King's Guard." Tauriel said slowly. "Others were in charge of providing food and staples for our larders. Oh, I hunted of course, but nothing else really."

Fili nodded in understanding. "It's not that bad. We're hardly destitute. But we'll not be wanting to spend much."

"So you don't call attention to yourselves." Tauriel concluded with a nod of her own.

Kili shot her a startled look. "I hadn't thought of that. She's right though."

Fili gave the she-elf a pleased look. "Very true."

The she-elf felt a bit lost. "Why else wouldn't you want to spend much?"

All three male dwarves looked at her as if surprised she didn't already know something so basic. It was Bofur who leaned forward to gently explain. "If we spend it, we don't have it anymore."

Tauriel sat back, feeling like a foreigner all of a sudden.

Kili chewed his food and swallowed before pointing at her. "We two can get to hunting. Bring in a lot of game right now."

Again the she-elf felt lost. "Why hunt more than we need?"

Fili gave her a quick look and then chuckled. "No worries. It's for trading. We keep what we need, we trade the rest for what we can't make or craft for ourselves. Things like salt."

Salt. Tauriel closed her eyes, shocked that she had missed something so basic. The four of them had arrived and taken up residence. But food would need to be gathered for the winter, and meats needed preserving. "I've never had to set up somewhere entirely new before."

"We have." Kili said with an odd note in his voice, and his new bride was suddenly aware that her husband had been something of a nomad, an exile.

Bofur grinned. "Never mind salt for right now. We got enough in wedding gifts to fill a barrel at least. Very generous. Nice bit of flour and sugar too. Tea, we may have to buy or make do."

Kili's eyes lit up. "I forgot about gifts!"

Fili pointed at the pantry. "Jars and jars of preserves. Apple, peach and strawberry."

Tauriel smiled, relaxing a bit. "That'll be nice this winter."

"What else did we get?" Kili asked eagerly.

Bofur pulled out a list he'd been working on earlier. "Linens and cloth. Not enough thread though." He frowned.

"We can trade for that." Fili nodded thoughtfully. "And for the services of a seamstress." He looked up suddenly at Tauriel, "unless you can sew?"

The she-elf shook her head. "Wounds. I can close a wound, that's about it."

"Us'n too, lass. No worries." Bofur smiled evenly at her.

Tauriel leaned back, nibbling on her food with real hunger but in no hurry. She listened as the males compared the wedding gifts they'd received with what they still needed for the upcoming cold seasons. Suddenly she frowned. "Leather?"

Kili chuckled and patted her arm. "That's on me. I can tan leather, you just help me bring in the game."

The she-elf sighed. "I feel like I'm not contributing."

"You will." Fili promised. "I have a plan for the town defenses, and training a reliable guard for the town. Also, guards that will be for hire to escort the trading caravans come spring. I'll need you for all of this."

Pleased, Tauriel nodded. That kind of job was right in line with her skill set. "It sounds like we will be very busy." Something pulled at her consciousness, something small. The she-elf paused without anyone really taking note.

Fili nodded, his mind cataloguing everything they had to get accomplished. "We will be fine for the winter, long as it may be. And then in the spring we can ..."

Kili coughed and shook his head.

Fili stopped and looked at his younger brother, questioning. "What?"

The dark-haired younger dwarf grinned. "Courting." He shot a secretive glance at his new wife.

"You'll still be here." Fili pointed out.

Kili's grin widened and he shrugged with a decidely smug air about him.

The blond dwarf looked over at Tauriel, who wasn't paying attention to them at all. He frowned at the she-elf, but she had a far-away look on her face as if her focus was turned inward.

"Where will you be laddie?"

Kili looked at the two males, and then reached over and picked up Tauriel's hand. It felt surprisingly warm and he wrapped his fingers around her fingers. "I thought about it over and over again. Trying to figure out what I could craft for her, as a courting gift. A proper courting gift."

Tauriel's hand tightened in his grip and he smiled at her, though she wasn't looking in his direction. Kili was about to ask her what was wrong, when Fili interrupted.

"What are you going to make that you won't be here?" The older brother asked pointedly.

Kili sighed and patted Tauriel's hand. "It was meant as a surprise. But basically, what I'm best at is travelling. And what Tauriel has never done is really travel."

Bofur gave a big happy sigh and his eyes gleamed. "Oh! Brilliant laddie! What are you planning to show her?"

"The sea." Kili leaned in, all enthusiasm. "Fish bigger than boats with teeth sharper than needles. Big waves crashing in on the shore. The moon hanging so big over the ocean you'd think it would have to fall from sheer weight."

Fili grinned hugely. "Good trading down that way, could bring up some really great supplies that aren't well known in these parts. Now that we have capital of our own to invest."

"Thought of that!" Kili's grin matched his brother's. "They have these things down near the sea, a gem that's not a gem. Called a pearl. Hard to come by this far north. I want some for Tauriel. And some to trade, of course."

Bofur shook his head wistfully. "I wasn't with you all when Thorin took you two so far south. Missed all this. I think I'm jealous of your new wife, laddie!"

All eyes turned to Tauriel, who had the most peculiar and soft smile on her lips. But she wasn't really looking at them.

"Tauriel?" Kili called gently, tightening his hand upon hers. "Did you hear?"

"Pearls." Tauriel murmured, then turned her jewel bright green eyes upon him. "But that journey might have to wait for another time." She sounded softly apologetic, and yet not sorry at all.

"Wait? Why?" Kili sat up, mildly alarmed at the thought of waiting. And at the thought of his carefully planned courtship going awry. "You don't like the idea?"

He sounded so hurt. Tauriel's eyes melted as she gave him a singularly loving look that left Bofur and Fili looking away from the two. "I love the idea. I love you for wanting to give it to me. But, plans will have to change a bit."

"Why?" Kili asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

"Because I was wrong earlier. I have married you. Twice." She smiled at him so tenderly that his breath caught.

Even so, he didn't get it. Bofur and Fili looked at each other, shrugging. They didn't get it either.

"Not twice, you said it yourself." Kili frowned slightly, trying to puzzle out what she was trying to tell him. "One marriage and one handfasting."

"Exactly." She gave him a look full of encouragement, as if he should somehow glean the answer from thin air.

Kili looked at his brother for help, but Fili was lost too. The blonde put up his hands in front of his chest, a sign of surrender.

Tauriel sighed, still looking nowhere but at her husband. "Handfasting ..."

Kili gave a slow shake of his head.

Bofur looked on helplessly. "Is for ten years. And I don't think either of you is planning to walk away."

"Or?" Tauriel asked leadingly. "Ten years or ...?"

Fili's jaw dropped as his eyes rounded. His face heated up to an interesting shade of red that would rival a beet.

"Fili?" Kili sounded alarmed, standing up as if ready to do something if he only knew what to do.

"You're pregnant?" Fili choked out the word in awe and what sounded like fear.

Suddenly Kili's head spun and he felt dizzy. Elven handfasting. It lasted for ten years or until someone walked away, or they got pregnant. Then it turned into a real marriage. He sat back down again, hard.

Bofur looked like a fish out of water, his mouth kept opening and closing. As if he were trying to say something, but the words just wouldn't come.

Kili sputtered, trying to regain his inner balance. "When? When were you going to tell me? I was ...we were dancing last night! I was ...they chased you! They chased you around and you're pregnant!"

"You were stomping on her toes." Fili pointed out less than helpfully.

Kili's face dropped all color as he went pale. "I ...upstairs ...I ...too rough ...oh maker ...oh ...oh."

Bofur reached over and pushed Kili's head down onto the table. "Breathe lad, breathe." But the moment Bofur lifted his hand, Kili's dark head popped right back up.

Fili swallowed hard, very uncomforatable as he shifted in his seat. He shot Tauriel a quick look, but couldn't manage to meet her amused gaze. "You should have told us sooner. We dwarves, we take these things very seriously."

"Elves too." She murmured gently.

"We would protect ye, lass." Bofur said weakly. "That dancing and chasing and ...no stress. Important to be no stress."

Tauriel laughed gently. "Have no concerns on the matter, I wasn't with child last night."

Shocked, Kili's eyes rounded and he was pretty sure he was no longer breathing. Fili and Bofur's eyes were wide as platters. "Huh?" Was the must intelligable response given.

"I just now ...here and now." She ended, sparing them the details.

"You just NOW realized?" Kili sounded shocked.

Tauriel shook her head. "Elves, we know. Understand?"

They didn't understand.

The she-elf sighed and tried to be gentle at the same time as she also knew she needed to be more blunt. "We are aware of ourselves. When we conceive ..." Three faces went red. "We know immediately. We feel the spark of life and recognize the change within us."

Silence. Staring. More silence.

Bofur shifted in his chair. Fili stared at Kili. And poor Kili stared at his wife.

"It's not the same for dwarves?" She guessed belatedly.

Three male heads shook back and forth, each looking utterly stunned.

Then Kili drew in a shocked breath and pointed upstairs, vaguely toward their shared room, and then at himself, and then at her. "Just now? Just then ...and you just now ...right here. While we were sitting here? Talking? You ...me ...when we did that upstairs, and then came down here ...and it just ...NOW?"

Bofur pushed Kili's head down onto the table again when it looked like the poor dwarf was about to pass out.

Fili smiled weakly, feeling less than steady himself. Then he straightened up quickly. "Can you tell the gender?"

Kili moaned, his head rising on that question.

Tauriel laughed and shook her head. "No. Not that far along yet."

"But you'll know?" Bofur asked, his voice sounding raspy and a bit unsure.

"Eventually." Tauriel continued. "And in twelve months, we'll have a new member of this family."

"Twelve months?" Kili stood up, trying to get a handle on things, he started pacing. "Don't you mean ten months?"

Tauriel paused. "Your dwarrowdams don't carry for twelve months?"

"Ten." Bofur sounded as weak as he currently felt.

"Let's split the difference at eleven." Fili joked, but no one laughed. He sighed, running a nervous hand over his mustache and mouth. "Well now."

"Aren't you pleased?" Tauriel asked, suddenly feeling a bit unsure.

Kili looked at her, he took a deep breath and then another. "I'm going to be a father." He said with true wonder.

Tauriel's smile was as if the sun came out from behind the clouds.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

She'd thought they'd taken the news well. It wasn't until three days later, when Fili had stopped what he was working on to 'join' her as she headed into town that she realized something important.

Tauriel stopped and stared down at Fili. "You don't have to put down your work."

"Need a break." He commented dryly.

The red-head's eyes narrowed. "I haven't been anywhere outside the house in three days without either you, Bofur or Kili with me." She pointed out.

"Coincidence." Fili shrugged, looking guilty.

Tauriel sighed, looking aggrieved. "I'm pregnant, not injured."

"Shhh!" Fili looked around a bit desperately, hoping no one had been close enough to hear her words.

The she-elf shook her head, irritated. "So I can go no where on my own? Like a child?"

Fili shrugged and looked away. He did not answer, which was telling in and of itself.

"Is this how you treat dwarrowdams?" The red-head asked, giving a long-suffering sigh.

Fili pursed his lips and shook his head. "No. We don't let them go outside the house in this condition. Kili said you probably wouldn't agree to that."

Tauriel's eyes narrowed dangerously. "He would be right." She sighed. "It's going to be a long twelve months."

Fili grinned cheekily at her, moving quickly to keep up with her longer stride. "It could only be ten or eleven months. We don't know yet."


	27. Battle Songs

"I should not have told you." Tauriel sighed rather indulgently, her long elegant fingers sifting through her husbands dark hair. Kili's head was resting on her chest, facing down her body. His large and calloused hand spread gently and possesively on the flat slope of her stomach.

Gutteral sounds in a softened tone of voice teased her, his hot breath tantalizing upon her sensitive skin. Tauriel caught a few words of Khuzdul that she knew, but most of what he was saying was not familiar.

The red head let the texture of her husband's hair glide through her fingers, enjoying the simple touch. "Kili." She called to him softly.

The dark-eyed dwarf did not answer her, finishing the little 'chat' he was having with his unborn child first. Finally though, he leaned in and pressed a seriously sweet kiss to her belly, making Tauriel catch her breath.

"What do you speak to our child about?" The she-elf asked almost breathlessly, her stomach muscles quivering a bit.

Kili finally turned his head to look up at her face, then scooted up in their shared bed to lean in and give her a sweet kiss of her own. "Battle songs."

Startled, green eyes opened a bit wider as she stared at him. "What?" Not what she'd been expecting.

"I'm teaching my son of Dwarven history and the glory of the Longbeards." Kili sounded a bit smug, his lips tilted up in cheeky amusement. "Before you get a chance to teach him grace and manners."

Unable to come up with a response, Tauriel simply stared at him, and then gave a wry chuckle. "Grace and manners?"

"Legolas." Kili's mouth twisted a bit, as if catching the scent of something off.

Stunned, Tauriel gave him a slack jawed look. "What?"

Her dark-eyed love leaned in and touched his forehead to hers before pulling back. "My son will not be like that. Dwarven ways are better."

Green eyes narrowed on him darkly. "Oh?"

Kili grinned widely at her and winked. "You basically said so yourself, when you chose me over staying in the Mirkwood. You know, with elves." And Legolas, the last bit hung in the air between them although unspoken.

"That's absurd!" She stammered.

"That you chose me?" His look was happily smug.

"I felt sorry for you, since no one else would have you." Tauriel crossed her eyes at him, drawing a deep rumbling laugh from her husband.

Kili snuggled up next to his wife, sliding his arms around her. "And you have to go and say a thing like that after I built this nice big bed especially for you."

"You know, it might be a daughter." Tauriel reveled in his warmth. "It is a very nice bed though."

"It is." He kissed her collarbone with a loud smack. "And I'd adore a daughter."

Laughing, she trailed her fingers over his strong bicep as he held her.

Almost immediately Kili gave a huge jaw-cracking yawn and the she-elf stilled. "Long day he murmured."

Tauriel's mouth tightened, an instant before her grip found the back of his loose hair.

"Ow!" Kili winced as his head was pulled up unceremoniously.

The red-head eyed her husband. "Two weeks. I've been pregnant for two weeks. Is this what the entire year is going to be like?"

His glance slid guiltily away from hers. She hissed in annoyance. "I'm tired." Protested the dark-haired dwarf. "Do you want a list of all I've done since day break?"

"No." Tauriel snapped. "But every night for two weeks you come to bed having worked yourself into exhaustion and ...well, let me give you a list of what I've done. Nothing."

"That's not true!" Kili's protest grew in volume. "You've been busy."

"With nothing!" The red-head's eyes were flashing with ill temper. "Errands. Nothing heavy, nothing strenuous, nothing, nothing, nothing!"

Kili's eyes narrowed on hers, his temper rising as well. "You're carrying a baby! My baby!"

The pretty she-elf grimaced. "I really shouldn't have told you." She sighed. "And now you won't touch me."

Dark eyes closed with distress and a shudder ran through his body. "I ...well, I don't want to ..."

"Liar." Her hand moved down his body and unceremoniously grabbed a part of his anatomy that did indeed seem eager for her. And with her touch, grew even more eager. She smiled grimly as his head arched back and his eyes nearly rolled. "Say that again with a straight face."

Kili swallowed and shook his head. "I was trying to say that I don't want to hurt you, not that I don't want you at all." He winced and shifted his hips slightly, stilling only when she didn't let go or move with him. "Uhm, can I have that back please?"

Her answer was to move her thumb over part of him that even through thin sleeping trousers made him gasp and shudder.

"Since when do you wear clothing to bed except when travelling?" Her grip tightened and Kili whimpered. Clearly he wasn't willing to fight her, and that just sent her temper even higher. "I'm pregnant, not injured nor dying. The baby is healthy and happy."

Kili managed to get his hand on hers and disentangle himself from her grip. He let out a rather shaky breath as he studied her face. "Happy?" He questioned.

Tauriel blinked at him.

Kili grimaced and sighed. "You can tell the baby is happy?"

Weighing her words carefully, the red-head tried to explain. "It's not that the child has emotions that I know of, no." She admitted. "It's more like a general feeling of 'alright' or 'not alright'."

Her husband gave her a puzzled look.

Tauriel sighed. "It's just a general sense that nothing's wrong. Sorry it's so vague."

Kili nodded, a look of longing crossing his face. "I wish we had another elf here, one who's been through this. Or my mam."

"Dis?" His wife shook her head. "She'd have me strung up for seducing her baby."

"No, no." Kili laughed, then ducked his head, his hair falling over his eyes. "Okay, she might."

They shared the laughter for a moment, then as they sobered, she gave him a long look as she pushed his hair back behind his ears. "Don't pull away now."

"I'm here." He moved in closer to her, his breath on her face.

Tauriel shook her head. "I'm fine. The baby is fine. We can work and do things, and you can touch me."

Hesitantly Kili rolled his hips toward her, brushing her with an only slightly less excited piece of his male anatomy. There was a reluctance in his eyes, a warning.

She smiled at him. "I'll let you know immediately if I get uncomfortable."

Their lovemaking that night was the gentlest they had yet managed. It was tender and lengthy and left them both weak and shaky. Happy though.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

The heavy pounding noises of the blacksmith was actually something of a comfort. The large male human pounded on the steel he was forging with a fuller, a half-round set hammer in order to form grooves in the metal.

Fili grunted in approval and waited, not interrupting the flow of the striking blows. The rhythm of the hammering reminded him sharply of his Uncle Thorin, and a pang of sorrow hit him hard.

"Do you for?" The Blacksmith straightened, his eyes cautious on the young blond dwarf once he finished the work he was doing.

Fili explained the set of woodworking tools he wanted and the blacksmith nodded, then grimaced. "Works back up." Apparently he was a man of few words.

"Damn." The blond dwarf nodded, looking around. "No apprentice?"

The blacksmith grimaced. "Ran off South." No further explanation followed. Definitely a man of few words.

Fili glanced around the area and shrugged. "What if I do the labor?"

The large male turned back to the dwarf with a surprised look, his eyes carefully gauging Fili's musculature. "You trained?"

"Not full, not official." Not an actual apprentice is what he meant. "Coppernose the Elder." He gave his assumed name.

"I heard." The smith eyed him once more. Then he pointed at some metal. "Nails. Three sizes, round and square. Five each."

Fili grimaced, knowing he was out of practice. Nails. So easy to make, right? Wrong. Usually apprentices didn't even try these until almost a year along. Why? Hammer control. Bigger items were easier to strike, while the smaller ones took finesse. And even harder to make five of each kind look uniform and matching. Crud.

Still and all, for the use of the blacksmith forges and materials he would expect to be tested.

Fili pulled off his fur and leather coat and got to work.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

A month later Tauriel was feeling less than indulgent as she slapped at Kili's shoulders. Her husband reeked of smoke from tanning hides and the odor was enough to turn her stomach over. Thrice.

Swallowing hard, she pushed him away as Kili spoke a few words of Khuzdul to their unborn child. "Stop with the warrior battle songs."

Kili eyed her complexion and sighed. "Bad morning?" He guessed.

"Katakhiger." She mumbled to him with an almost apologetic look. It was a Khuzdul word. It meant he stank. Strongly.

In the past week or so strong smells were catching her out, and making her stomach go into turmoil. Nausea was almost an unknown sensation for the young she-elf. In all her 600 years she'd only felt this bad after eating the wrong mushrooms, and that was before she'd turned a single century old.

Nurbera and the other dwarrowdams assured her that this wasn't unusual. And the kind words of comfort were nice from the others who had been through this themselves. But it was still unsettling to the usually very hale elf.

Kili brought his long hair forward, sniffing. "Smoke. Sorry." He winced, moving over to the other side of the room. He'd spent most of the morning working on the leathers he was tanning for trade goods.

"No." Tauriel gave him a soft frown. "You've been working hard and I ...it's not fair."

"Nurbera assured us it would ease up." Kili told her, hope clear in his voice. He put down the small mallet he was using to put together the pieces of the dresser he'd taken apart and revarnished.

Tauriel sniffed and looked at him fondly, making him grin as the two stood in the room they were turning into a grand nursery.

"Do those spinach twisty things still help?" Her dark-eyed husband asked quietly.

The red-head's eyes lit up eagerly and he grinned. Then she sighed. "I ate the last one this morning."

Kili tossed the mallet in the air, watching it turn in the air before catching it with great aplomb. "I will be back soon!" He pointed at the large pile of fabrics she'd been sorting though. "You choose the ones you like."

Tauriel sighed, holding up the soft light-weight wools in natural colors. There were even some cotton and linen in here. "Where did Bofur find all of these?"

Kili laughed and shrugged. "Who knows? He's not saying." He teased.

The she-elf dropped the pretty bluish-green wool as she caught her breath.

"I jest!" Her husband grinned at her. "He traded a cow for the chest and the fabrics, came with threads and needles too."

"A cow?" Tauriel stared at him, then shook her head. "We don't have a cow."

Kili scratched his chin as he pretended to think that over. "Well, we don't ...now." Then as he saw her cheeks redden with irritation, he shrugged. "He traded one of the horses for the cow and a few chickens."

"We have chickens now, or did he trade them away?" The red-head asked a bit peevishly.

"Bofur's out back building a coop, so I'd guess we still have the chickens." The dwarven prince admitted. "I think he likes the idea of fresh eggs again."

So did Tauriel, her green eyes widened at the thought. Then she shook her head. "We could have used a cow for milk."

"Nah." Kili grinned at his pretty wife. "He claims that goat milk is much better and the animal easier to care for. He's waiting for just the right trade. Don't worry about it, Bofur's the best at trading."

"As long as he doesn't trade away the chair I'm sitting in ...while I'm using it." She muttered darkly.

The dark-eyed dwarf gave her a sympathetic look. "Bofur apologized for trading the book you were reading, he honestly thought you were done with it. Hamnar had a lot of books."

"Books are for reading, not trading." The she-elf sighed, picking up a particularly lovely forest green cotton.

Kili shrugged helplessly. "To dwarves, most everything is for trading. But we all learned a valuable lesson, don't trade the books without checking with you first. Besides, you like having the oil for the lamps ...which is what we got in that trade."

Tauriel shrugged, still miffed.

Kili moved closer to kiss her, then stopped as her nose wrinkled and she sent him a glare. "Right. Bath."

"Spinach twists. Then bath." She corrected his priorities

"What kind of dwarf baby likes spinach?" Kili grumbled on his way out the door. "When I get done bathing I'm singing THREE battle songs to him!"

"Could be a girl." Tauriel didn't appear distressed as she rubbed a beige naturally colored linen fabric against her cheek.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"This is your fault!"

Fili wiped the sweat off his forehead and bare chest, blond hair curling along his pectorals. The distinctly female and distinctly irate voice had him grabbing for the shirt he'd been changing into. "What are you doing back here?"

The 'back here' in question being behind the smithy where he'd been about to wash up before heading home for a quick lunch. The clean shirt clung to him in wet and sticky patches as he'd not had a chance to rinse off from the rain barrel kept there for this purpose, and he was sweaty from a long morning of good work.

Fili glanced quickly over at the human blacksmith, who took one look at the angry Teldu and turned his eyes to the sky. It had spread quickly through Brookshire that the apprentice baker was, in fact, female. The amazement had faded since Kili and Tauriel's wedding over a month ago, but now people did treat her differently.

"You went to my da, didn't you?" Teldu's pale-blue eyes were fairly dancing with angry light, her face red and showing a high temper.

"Whoa!" Fili protested in confusion. "I haven't ...I don't know what you're going on about!"

Teldu drew back in a huff. "Whoa? I'm not a horse you brainless wonder."

The blond dwarf sighed, clenching a fist uselessly. "I didn't mean it like that."

Uldane, the human blacksmith, whistled and Fili looked up sharply. He spotted Dern striding purposefully over toward them. Inwardly he groaned.

It didn't look good for Fili to be talking to the unmarried Teldu without getting permission from her father first, especially since the older dwarf knew of the blond's ultimate intentions. Even if Teldu herself seemed quite clueless.

"I'm over here." Fili pointed at his booted feet, clearly planted behind the smithy and not over near the bakery.

Dern made a frustrated sound, but nodded resolutely at the younger male dwarf. "I have eyes."

Teldu made an equally frustrated sound. "How can I earn my mastery in baking if I'm not allowed to bake?"

The dwarvish father winced and sighed. "The family is stretched right now, daughter. No one can watch the bakery while you work. Perhaps next week."

"You mean, watch me. Not the bakery." Teldu frowned sharply. "I don't need watching over. I'm of age!"

"Unmarried." Fili frowned, finding it his unfortunate task to agree with her father.

Dern nodded. It had been one thing to have his daughter apprentice as a baker under his own brother, Dorn. But when that ill-lucked dwarf had gotten killed by orcish raiders, things had changed. But he'd already explained all of this, at length, to his elder daughter. Instead he turned to Fili. "You taking up a job over here? I thought you agreed to work with the guards?"

"No." Fili shook his head, his blond braids catching the light of the smithy forges and gleaming almost gold. "The blacksmith is backed up with repairs to farming tools right now. I'm working on some simple blades for the guards and Uldane is kind enough to allow me use of his former apprentice's tools."

"Simple blades." Uldane snorted in wonder. "Coppernose here knows his weapons. Town pays for the materials, he does the work and I get an extra hand now and then. Fair deal."

Dern snorted. "What do you get out of it, Fili?"

The blond shrugged, and although the males were patently ignoring the lone female, he was aware of her glaring at him. "The guards get weapons to train with and use, and I get a fighting force for the town. And a decent enough wage."

"And the town loses a bakery." Snarled Teldu, her arms crossed defensively.

Dern sighed. Two of his cousins had left the area to seek work in the newly reclaimed Erebor, being decent craftsmen. But Dern was a merchant, and he had business here. He didn't have a craft to work on or offer. So he stayed, as did Brodr, his one remaining cousin. "We're a trade town. Traders and merchants come through. Strangers. Can't have an unmarried lass unprotected in town!"

Teldu's eyes nearly crossed with anger as she turned to Fili. "You put him up to this, didn't you? Kissing me by the wedding bell!"

The blond dwarf shrugged and shook his head. "I didn't say anything to your da." He looked to Dern for support, and got a short head nod. "See?"

"Fili! There you are." Kili walked through the smithy, then caught sight of Teldu and his grin widened. "Actually, it's you I'm needing lass. Spinach twisty thingies. Need a lot."

"Bakery is closed." Snapped Teldu.

Kili's eyes widened in alarm. "What? Why? Tauriel loves those things."

Dern sighed. "Don't have anyone to watch and guard. It's busy right now, trying to get merchandise through before winter sets in for the season."

Kili turned pleading eyes on Fili, jerking his head toward Dern in a non-verbal communication that clearly meant 'fix this'.

Fili sighed. "My brother is married right and tight and can watch over the bakery for the day."

Dern seemed surprised, he knew how hard the brothers had been working lately. "For a few spinach twists? They're not that good."

"Says you." Sniped Teldu, clearly affronted. "The elf loves them. So do a lot of the humans. But I'm not opening up the bakery for only one customer. I need to work on my skills so I can gain my mastery in the field!"

The older dwarrow sighed and rolled his stiff shoulders. "Surely there are some other rolls or breads already made?"

Kili shook his head almost wildly, taking Dern by surprise. He looked over at Fili who gave a quick look of disgust. Finally, and quite grudgingly, the blond gave a simple hand movement.

Dwarves often used and accompanying sign language with Khuzdul. It was part of their races highly secret syntax and was a full part of that language all on its own. This particular sign meant 'expecting'.

"Oh!" Dern's eyes went wide with both shock and pleasure. He sent Kili a look of sympathy and congratulations. "Seems to be wanting spinach huh?"

"Soft butter rolls with spinach, garlic and cheese." Teldu mumbled, having caught the hand gesture as well, which managed to cool her temper somewhat. "I'll make you a batch."

Kili's tension melted away and he grinned, turning to follow the young apprenctice baker back to her establishment.

"My apologies." Dern sighed, turning to look Fili up and down. "I'm not sure how you got dragged into that."

The blond nodded, his thoughts moving forward though. He glanced over at Uldane who had pulled out his own lunch, thick meat sandwiches and cool well water. "Dern? There's no dwarf available to work in the bakery?"

"No." The older dwarrow said quietly. "Everyone's busy this time of year."

"Does it have to be a dwarf?"

"Huh?" Dern looked puzzled at this question. Of course it had to be a dwarf. Who else was there? His eyes widened. "Men?"

"Uldane?" Fili asked quietly. "Didn't I hear that Maren was looking for work?"

The blacksmith stopped mid-chew, then continued as his own mind raced. He nodded, and then after a hasty swallow, he spoke. "Broke his leg something bad, working with the pack animals. Will be at least six months to get back to where he was. And him with a widowed daughter and two grandchildren to raise."

Fili nodded and shot a speculative look over at Dern, who was shaking his head negatively. "He doesn't have to be a warrior. All he has to do is keep an open eye, man the shop while Teldu is baking in the back. Raise an alarm if needed. You could mount a large bell behind the counter."

Dern stilled and managed to think about it a moment. "I know Maren, he's not a bad sort. But ...a human?"

Fili shrugged. "Uldane is right across the way here if trouble arises, and I'm here a lot right now."

The blacksmith nodded quietly. "I've known the lass my whole life, even if I didn't exactly know she was ...er, is ...a lass."

"Meran would probably accept a wage supplimented by goods not sold that day, what with mouths to feed." Fili offered.

Dern drew in a deep breath, and blew it out slowly, making his cheeks bulge slightly. "Let me think on it."

Fili nodded, it was more than he'd thought he'd get so soon anyway.

Dern grinned suddenly and shot Fili an amused look. "Are you sure you're not just trying to get on Teldu's good side?"

Fili laughed at that. "Are you sure she has one?"

Both males laughed heartily at that.

A horn blew in a deep rhythm from the town gates. Fili looked up, his interest caught. "New visitors to town." It was a system he'd set up right away, to let the townspeople know when traders and visitors arrived.

A short blast on the horn, followed in quick succession by three more.

Fili frowned now. That signal meant that there were dwarves entering the town. He shot a glance over at the bakery, where his brother and Teldu were occupied.

Dwarves didn't mean anything bad, he reassured himself.

Unless they were dwarves that could recognize either Coppernose the Elder, or the Younger, as being from the Line of Durin. "Dern?"

The older dwarrow nodded. "I'll check them out."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	28. Signals

The large dwarf didn't look pleased in the slightest. Crossed arms and thick muscled forearms were only a part of the daunting sight.

Of course the strange dwarf caught him with his eyes, he was standing in such a way that he had several clear lines of sight. His back to the wall of a building. Not that he was alarmed, more likely he was just used to finding the best tactical postions wherever he happened to be.

Dern looked at him, but no more than he looked at each of the newly arrived dwarves. They all looked fit and well armed.

A finely armored dwarf with a magnificenlty groomed blond beard was speaking with young Deven, the others standing quietly and watching.

Deven caught sight of Dern approaching and relaxed subtly, but it was enough of a cue for the blond dwarf to turn and look. A large grin split his rather stoic face in a way that made it seem that smiles were not his natural expression.

Dern stood silently, letting the dwarf leader approach. Since they were in public, around Men, Khuzdul was not used. "Well met." The blond bowed correctly, if a bit stiff.

"Well met traveller." Dern bowed his own head in acknowledgement. He eyed the well armed troupe with caution. "Not merchants." It wasn't really a guess.

The blond made a silent gesture, meaning roughly 'be at peace', signalling trouble wasn't about to start. He then did something very interesting, he looked to the larger warrior standing with his arms crossed looking intimidating. It seemed that pretty armor be damned, here was the real leader. Recieving a quick nod, the blond continued. "We are passing by on our way South."

South? Dern looked puzzled.

"You have heard King Dain rules Erebor?" The blond continued, then thumped his chest. "We ride to reclaim Moiria next."

Dern stilled, his eyes moving from one well armed fighting dwarf to the next. "A worthy goal."

"We are gathering support." The tone was leading.

Dern nodded, scratching at his own beard. "Our possible adventurers have already left for Erebor, to see our former home and perhaps earn new lives."

The blond pulled a face, but nodded without anger. "I had expected so, to be truthful. But further South we hope to gather more to our cause." He made another handsignal. This one was asking if all was well.

Dern smoothed his hand and made a quick affirmative move of his palm and fingers that to Men looked like a natural movement while speaking. "South might find you some interest." At the end of his words, he added a very simple thumb move against the side of his forefinger, followed by a quick flick of the thumb nail itself. Not a dwarvish word at all.

The blond didn't react, but the tall warrior he seemed deferrential to, did. He blinked twice. Rapidly. That was all. The armored blond nodded and looked around casually. "Perhaps we can replenish some supplies?"

Dern waved his hand toward the main part of town. "Mostly Men here, but a few kind businesses." Meaning dwarven owned.

"Any ...recommendations?" The deep rumble was appropriate coming from such an intimidating looking warrior, his leathers lined with the furs of predators.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili was laughing as Fili slid in through the back door of the bakery. Teldu had been smiling as well, but the dwarf-maid lost her mirth when she spied him. The blond didn't have time to tease her though.

"Lock the front door." His voice was low. "Make sure the place looks closed."

Kili slid out of his seat in a second, moving stealthily.

"No." A frustrated sound escaped from Fili even as he pulled a face. "Her. Display windows."

Teldu's pale-blue eyes opened wide, and then she caught her breath as she saw Fili pull out two wicked looking blades and place them on her countertop. "What's wrong?"

Fili shook his head and pointed to the front of the bakery. He hated letting her go out there alone, hated it more than anything else.

"Who are you hiding from?" The dwarf-maid gave him the full stare from her rather spooky looking eyes and Fili grimaced. "Kili, you go."

"I can do this." Teldu protested instantly, moving before either brother could stop her. She walked through to the public front of the store. The front door wasn't a problem, she hadn't unlocked it in the first place. But the display window had curtains on either side, and they were pulled back.

Not all buildings had a window like this. Dorn had taken great pride in it, as their cousin Anur had crafted it special just for the bakery. There was nothing more clever than a dwarf crafter. Teldu reached for the strings that would allow her to operate the curtains, wondering just who these Coppernose brothers really were. Her father knew, but she was more than sure he wasn't willing to share that information.

In the street, she spied a long beard. One that she'd not seen before. Teldu slipped back into the shadow as the curtain slid closed.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dern watched as the large leader of the dwarven group sent the dwarrows on various errands to resupply. He didn't seem in any hurry. But when Dern looked behind him, as if thinking about going back to his own work, the deep rumble stopped him. "Stay a while. I would speak with you." Then he made that odd hand sign that wasn't a word, mirroring the one that Dern had given earlier.

The Brookshire dwarrow nodded briefly, barely a twitch of his bearded head. Obviously the warrior recognized the sign that Fili had taught him. Dern hoped this was a good thing, and that he wasn't making a mistake.

Finally they were the last two dwarrow standing before the town gates, under the watch of the guards who were acting like they weren't curious about the heavily armored company.

The large warrior with the frightening looking hand weapons decorating his fists sighed and looked Dern over with deep speculation. For his part, the Brookshire dwarrow had to look up to meet the hard-eyed look of the intimidating fighter. He was about to speak, when the group's leader shook his head slightly.

Dern glanced up just as the blond in the pretty armor came up to them, grimacing slightly. "Some of the lads saw a sweet-beard behind a closed shop window. Bakery." It was a question.

The father tensed and bristled. Sweet-beard was a slang term for a dwarf-maid.

The large dwarven leader scoffed and frowned sharply. "We are not here to court. And the shop is no doubt closed to keep such as ourselves from bothering a local treasure."

"Not many maids in Erebor as yet." The blond hesitated.

The warrior shrugged. "And fewer still in Moiria. Do we ride to fight and free our home, or are you looking for a soft lap to lay your head?"

Dern continued to frown, shifting his weight slightly. Nervous. He could only hope that Cleadeth didn't get wind of the visitors in town. That one would want to try her wiles on so many new dwarrows.

"What if some of the lads have a sweet tooth?" The blond wasn't ready to call it quits.

The leader squared his shoulders, glaring down at the armored dwarrow who suddenly looked less sure of himself. "Any lad who has a sweet tooth? I will gladly knock it loose from their jaw for them. No charge."

Dern watched the blond fairly flee after a hasty dismissal. He glanced nervously back up at the large warrior. That one had unreadable dark eyes.

"You have something to share?" The deep voice rumbled with an emotion Dern was unsure of. Hope maybe. Reluctance as well.

The Brookshire dwarrow shrugged. "I will have to find out." He stalled, wondering if the intimidating male would agree to wait.

After a long considering moment, the warrior nodded and Dern made his escape.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Teldu boxed up the cooling spinach twists for Kili, still on edge. The two Coppernose brothers seemed tense, and the feeling was catching. "What's wrong?"

"Probably nothing." Fili muttered, pacing slowly in her clean kitchen.

The dwarf-maid pulled a face. "Nothing to share with a mere female?" She guessed with a bitter note in her voice.

"Not true and not fair." Kili offered her a reassuring smile, that would have gone a lot better if his hand wasn't resting on the hilt of his belt knife. "All good dwarves have secrets." He quoted King Thrain I, the hero who had founded the kingdom under the mountain so long ago.

"And secrets can be just as precious an ore." Snapped Teldu, capping his quote with one of her own. Both brothers turned wide eyes on her, a bit stunned that she quoted their own great-grandfather at them. "What?" She asked, uneasy under their heavy regard.

Fili frowned. She didn't know, it was just a quote. He grunted and looked away. Kili gave a small salute to her with one hand and a warm grin. A grin that faded into nothingness by a knock on the back door of the kitchen.

No one said anything until the clear sound of a key in the lock had them relaxing just a bit. Teldu looked over at each brother in turn, her own nerves jittery as she noted that their hands were definitely on their weaponry. Fili had even drawn a blade forth.

Dern called out as he opened the door cautiously, slipping inside. Fili let his knife disappear once more. He smiled at his daughter and made motion for her to follow him. "We're going to leave you two here." He said with a pointed look.

"The sign?"

"One recognition." Dern stated quietly. "Large dwarf, fist weapons, bald head covered with tattoos." He watched the lads carefully. "He'll be coming here."

Fili and Kili both grinned so suddenly it was as if the sun pierced through storm coverage and bathed the land with light.

Dern blew out a nervous breath, nodding. "Good?"

"Better." Fili laughed.

Dern threw a covering cloak over his daughter, escorting her back home and all the while chiding her on THIS being the reason that he didn't want her working in town by herself. The unmarried bachelors of Brookshire knew and respected Dern. Dwarrows passing through? They might push things further in an attempt at wooing an actual dwarf-maid.

Fili and Kili had shared an amused glance at each other as Teldu had turned and stubbornly argued the point with her da even as they left.

Grinning, Fili rocked back on his heels. "Mister Dwalin."

"Could be no other." Kili's own grin answered his brother's delight. He watched as his older brother reached over and grabbed a large green apple from a bowl. "I think those are for tarts."

"Missed lunch." Fili spoke, his mouth full. "Teldu came screeching over, complaining."

Dark-eyes widened appreciatively. "Looking at you for help?"

"Oh, I think it was more to place the blame." Fili's smile turned conniving. "But since I ended up helping after all, it keeps her off-balance."

"Not Cleadeth, then?" The younger sibling teased, already knowing the answer.

Fili made a face and his brother chuckled.

"She's got a mean and sneaky way about her. I quite like it." The blond admitted. "Clever and sure of herself."

Kili nodded and then turned thoughtful. "If she gets to the point as a baker that she wants to be a master, she'll have to test."

The older brother looked up at that statement, missing the point. "I'd escort her with Dern if need be."

"Where?" Kili asked the question quietly.

Suddenly Fili's good mood slipped a bit and he sighed. Where indeed? Iron Hills? Ered Luin? "Erebor is now the closest." He grimaced. None of the choices were tenable actually. All were places where he would not go unrecognized for long. But only one was a place he'd made a vow never to return to.

"A branching of the trail we have yet to come to." Fili said quietly.

Kili nodded, his expression unusually somber. "I like her."

"I as well." Fili frowned. "Didn't expect to, not really." Which was true. She was not as flashy as her sister, with a quieter beauty around her. But her mind was sharper than his blades.

"Don't need Dern's approval, really." Kili pointed out. "You could start courting today if you want."

What his younger brother said was true. A female dwarf held all the power in a courtship. She said yea or nay. Not a family. No dwarrowdam was ever forced into marriage, and could say no at any time.

Fili shook his head. "I ...I need to prove myself. To her. To her father. To me as well."

Looking startled, Kili made a wordless protest.

"I'm not a prince anymore. Not the 'heir of all heirs' that Thorin raised me, us, to be. I don't have an apprenticeship." Fili struggled to find the right words to explain. "I'm a dwarrow of low family name and few prospects."

Kili made a noise of disgust followed by an even ruder and cruder hand gesture that had Fili choking with surpressed laughter. "You're a prince, even without the title. Uncle's training of us puts us able to accomplish the impossible. We're supposed to be dead, remember? Your prospects are without limits!"

Fili grinned widely, shaking his head at the younger dwarrow. No one could cut straight to the heart of the matter like his brother.

A knock on the door had both of them tensing. Despite their assurance that it was Dwalin, both of them went on high alert. Fili's blade made a reappearance.

"Come."

The large warrior with the furred tunic slipped inside the kitchen, looking around cautiously. He saw Kili first and then, with his harsh expression unchanged, his dark eyes slid to Fili.

A wide grin broke over the larger male's usually dour face as the three males moved in as one, wrapping their arms around each other in greetings.


	29. Reunion Special

Strong arms held them tightly. Fur tickled their noses as they drew in the scents of the outdoors, the forges, horses, sweat, and a blend of spices unique to one particular dwarf. It wasn't perfume, but to the two heirs of Durin, it was priceless.

Fili blinked rapidly, trying to keep moisture from building up in his blue eyes. He clapped the larger dwarrow on the back, signalling that he could let go now. Dwalin didn't, he merely squeezed tighter. Fili chuckled and gratefully let himself be held.

Kili sighed happily, burrowing into the familiar warmth. With a pang he realized that the comfort he'd always taken from Thorin and Dwalin would not always be there for him. Indeed, now that he was an expectant father, this would become HIS job. And while Kili had known that his Uncle Thorin was gone, unable to hold either of his nephews again, the feelings of loss struck him anew.

Dwalin felt Kili's hands tighten into fists on his leathers and turned his head, resting his cheek against the dark-haired prince's head. "Lad?"

"Missing uncle." Kili admitted without shame.

Dwalin grunted in sad acknowledgement, tightening his arms even further around the precious duo. "Been missing the two of you." He said hoarsely. "Erebor is too solemn without you miscreants."

Fili finally pulled back, but not far. His smile looked a little forced. "Mother made us vow ..."

"I know." Dwalin let go of the young blond, only to clap a heavy hand on Fili's shoulder. "I even know why."

Kili pulled away with obvious reluctance, not bothering to even try to smile. "I don't. I know what's been explained. Sure death to us if we stayed. Dain wanting the throne. Civil war. And something vague about a greater danger and it's all ..."

"True." Dwalin interrupted a bit harsher than he'd intended, his craggy face settling into a worried glare.

Kili bit out a harsh word in Khuzdul showing utter contempt for the very idea. "Dain wouldn't have killed us."

Dwalin shook his head slightly and sighed. "You didn't see him in those first few days. Bad as Thorin, though not like Thror. But I agree, Dain wouldn't have you killed now. He's come back to himself quite well. Rules Erebor evenly and decently."

Fili's blue eyes widened with betrayal, taking a step back from his uncle's cousin. "Dwalin?"

The large warrior furrowed his heavy brows. "I don't say he rules better than Thorin would have, or you." He turned and shot Kili with a lingering look. "Maybe better than you would though."

The dark-haired younger prince drew up sharply in protest. "Hey!"

Fili though, was shocked into a rough chuckle. "He's jerking you around little brother."

"I know." Kili sounded not quite so sure. "But why pick on me?"

Dwalin reached out and ruffled Kili's loose hair. "Because your braids have fallen out. Again."

Groaning, the youngest brother rolled his expressive eyes. "Oh like THAT makes any sense."

Fili, his momentary anger having faded, sighed. "So. You say you know the real reason?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. Unfortunately." Dwalin sighed, running a tired hand over his face. "But first, tell me of this place. Are you happy here?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"You look like you'n could use a nap."

Tauriel didn't even look up as she sat at the table, carefully storing the seeds she'd been drying this past month. "You look like you could do with a nice close shave." She threatened idly, her voice without heat or inflection.

Bofur smiled rather weakly at her. "You've been taking cuttings from the garden all week, surely you've done plenty already?"

"Following the winter, won't it be good to have a lovely garden able to sustain us with beans, chicory, endives, peas, lettuce and tomatoes?" The red-head didn't glance up from her work.

Bofur made a slight face and tilted his head to the side a bit. "Beans'll be good." He admitted. "And I think the lads like tomatoes well enough, especially roasted."

Tauriel finally looked up, a smile playing on her pretty lips. "But not peas?"

Shrugging, the toy maker smiled at her shyly. "Peas are fine, not real fond of chicory though."

"More for me." She teased, even as her green eyes narrowed on the dwarf's face. "Bofur? Is something the matter?"

"No! No indeed! Nothing!" The toy-maker protested strongly. Too strongly.

Tauriel's gaze narrowed on him as he looked about ready to turn tail and run from her. "Bofur?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Happy?" Fili pretended to taste the word with his mouth, looking up at the bakery's ceiling. "Without friends, family, mountain ..."

"Mother, uncle, cousins ..." Kili ticked off the next three items of importance.

"Without crown or at best ... an EXPLANATION that makes sense ..." Fili fixed his gaze directly onto Dwalin's. "We're happy enough I suppose."

"Yer safe." Dwalin pointed out.

Fili made a rude noise, while Kili made a far ruder hand gesture. "We were injuried and bullied into making vows never to return to Erebor. Weakened and bustled off with poor thoughts on wizards and far-seers and vague prophesy."

"Safe?" Kili scoffed. "If you'd wanted us safe you wouldn't have let Thorin bring us along to face off against a dragon! Or armies of overwhelming odds. Safe? When did dwarven blood ever sing for SAFE?"

"I'll admit. I've heard a fair few dwarven songs since leaving the Mirkwood. None have been big on safety."

All three male dwarrow turned stunned eyes to the front of the bakery. The red-haired she-elf leaned with false casualness against the doorway. Her dagger blade deftly removing garden soil from beneath her neat fingernails.

Dwalin bristled, but then relaxed as Fili flashed a smile of true warmth. While interestingly, Kili's face went completely red.

"I heard there are strange visitors in the town." Tauriel commented dryly, tilting her head in greeting to Dwalin.

The large dwarven warrior didn't know the lass well at all. Mostly what he knew was from the prison cells of Thranduil. Of course he'd heard Bofur's and Oin's tale of her saving Kili's life. And he himself had seen her protecting the king and his heirs at the last great battle. For that, he kept his tongue still and returned her nod of greeting.

"I did not know you had remained with the heirs." The warrior commented.

"Then you have not been speaking with mother." Fili interjected with some rather dry humor.

Kili was still staring at his wife, however. "Dwarves are all over this town! What if you'd been seen sneaking in here?"

Tauriel's eyebrows rose and her knife blade caught a gleam of reflected light. "Yes. Dwarves are everywhere." Her nose crinkled a bit. "Strangers. And do you really think I'd be seen if I didn't want to be?"

Kili sighed unhappily. "I don't need you to protect me! It's my turn to protect you!"

Dwalin's mouth tightened. What did the lad mean by that? Why did the elf need protecting? Instead of asking, he answered Fili's comment. "I have not spoken with the Lady Dis. King Dain keeps her busy, and safe."

Hearing the strange inflection in the tone, both brothers stiffened and forgot all other concerns. "Mam?"

Dwalin sighed and shrugged. "Dain has taken it in his head that she needs to be protected at all costs. Dis' temper is close to the surface, as she is followed everywhere by guards. Her every whim is seen to, and she lacks for no comfort. He treats her like a royal princess of old."

Fili barked out a quick laugh, while Kili's eyes bulged. The two looked at each other and then bit back groans. "Mam would hate that!"

Dwalin nodded with a quick twitch of a smile. "She does. Bored to tears, your Mam. But she can't speak privately. Guards are everywhere around her."

Sobering, Fili pursed his lips. "Do you think Dain suspects? About us?"

Dwalin shook his head, looking down at his boots. "No. There's a piece of this puzzle you lads might not have heard." He sighed and looked back up at them. "Sauron has returned."

Tauriel gasped, her green eyes huge with shock. Fili stared, his mouth agape. Kili sputtered, having swallowed wrongly, trying to catch his breath.

After a moment, silence filled the bakery. All three stared at Dwalin as if wanting to deny the moment.

Finally, the youngest couldn't take the quiet. "Sauron." Kili whispered the name. "As in the Great Enemy already conquered?"

"No. As in defeated, but not gone. Not like we'd thought." Dwalin pulled up a stool, resting himself as if suddenly wearied.

Fili watched, his eyes steady and careful. "How?"

The large warrior shook his bald head as he shrugged. "No one knows. The elves speak of his corporeal form being scattered after his defeat at Dagorlad. But that he must have been laying low, gathering strength all this time. Now he's back, and Mordor grows stronger every day."

Tauriel paled at the very idea.

Fili shook his head. "Okay. Great Enemy. Bad. But what does this have to do with Erebor? Mam? Us?"

Dwalin cleared his throat roughly and gave the last two heirs of Durin a lingering look of sympathy. "Gandalf had intercepted a communication. He told Thorin about it."

"Uncle told us that there was a letter with Black Speech that put a bounty on his head." Kili's voice sounded weaker than he would have liked.

"Gandalf told him that. As Thorin couldn't read black speech, he accepted the wizard's words at face value." Dwalin pointed out.

Tauriel seemed perturbed. "Are you saying that Mithrandir lied?"

Dwalin grimaced at her. "No, but he didn't disclose everything the letter contained. Not then." He sighed deeply. "My brother Balin and Dain are not on bad terms, but they aren't always on easy ones either. Balin wants to retake Moria next."

"Worthy." Fili nodded with a frown, thinking of the battle stories dwarves had told about Thror's fall. Not Thorin though. His uncle had refused to speak of that time often.

"Dain's against it entirely. Says that Durin's Bane still makes the place reek of his presence. Balin disagrees. That is what I'm doing, drumming up support to take Moria back." Dwalin gave a grim smile. "Without Dain's backing, it's slow going. Decades it'll be before Balin will have a force ready to try."

Kili caught the nuance before his brother. "Balin? Not you?"

"I swore to protect the Line of Durin. That's even more important now than ever before." Dwalin answered cryptically.

Fili's teeth snapped shut. "The Line of Durin is dead. Mam and a sneaky wizard as well as Elvish and Human leaders saw to that."

"They saved your lives." Dwalin sighed, looking very unhappy.

"You yourself said Dain wouldn't kill us now." Kili pointed out, glowering.

"Not Dain, no." Dwalin admitted. "King Dain talked at length with Gandalf before the wizard disappeared again where ever that might be. Dain finally shared with Balin." And by extension, to him. "Yer Mam doesn't even know this."

Fili and Kili shared a look, then turned to stare demandingly at Dwalin. It was a look that was a copy to Thorin.

The large warrior laughed and shook his head. "You two. You forget sometimes, and then you do that! Look just like your uncle at his most prideful."

Fili narrowed his eyes dangerously, but it was Kili's glower that was the mirror for Thorin's look of demand.

Dwalin gave in. "Sauron, though it wasn't known that it was he at the time, gave a bounty on Thorin's head. Gandalf didn't lie on that. But the bounty included the entirety of Durin's direct line."

Tauriel hissed, her knife hand moving until the blade rested protectively before her belly.

Fili's mind was racing, and he held up a hand as he thought through the revelation. Finally he snorted. "So? Mordor wanted us dead. Okay. Because ...we were going off to face a dragon. Smaug. One that could be influenced for evil destruction. Sauron wanted Smaug as an ally and we were trying to kill that same dragon."

"No." Tauriel breathed, her eyes wide and distressed. Kili stepped toward her, stopping when she shook her head and pointed at Dwalin. "That's not it, is it?"

The large warrior nodded solemnly. "The elf-maid is right. The bounty was put on your heads BEFORE plans had been made to re-take Erebor."

"The Lonely Mountain." Tauriel's tone was dark. "With a restored Erebor and Dale, then the Mirkwood becomes less of an easy target for Mordor. Sauron wanted to destroy the wood elves."

Kili stiffened at the thought. He had no love for King Thranduil. But in his short tenure there he'd come to be friendly enough with the healers and a few others. Even if they had half starved him accidentally.

"Erebor, Dale and Thranduil's kingdom together keep Sauron from sweeping through that part of Arda." Dwalin nodded, looking most grim. "Our only solice is that Mordor believes that the Line of Durin was severed. It keeps him from beseiging Erebor already."

Fili rubbed his palms against the leather of his pants. Wanting to hit something. Badly. "We can ..."

Uncharacteristically, Dwalin interrupted the former prince. "It's a secret. But Gandalf learned that Sauron had a prophesy, that as long as the Line of Durin still thrived, Erebor would stand against him and not fall."

Tauriel about gasped. "If he knew you two lived, the Great Enemy would stop at nothing to kill you both. And me."

Dwalin looked up puzzled at her last comment, only to turn away as Fili shook his head, speaking. "The goblin and warg army makes more sense now. But ..."

Kili groaned. "Before he was in the shadows. But Sauron is known to have returned. He can move far more openly now."

"Dain protects the Lady Dis. As far as our king knows, she is the last in the direct line. He takes great caution with her." Dwalin commented, his voice a bit on the dry side. "She hates it, but doesn't know of the prophesy."

"I don't believe in prophesy. Not one bit." Fili snorted, crossing his arms.

"Nor I." Dwalin agreed. "But it is not we who matter. Sauron puts stock in the words. And he thinks he's won. With Thorin and you two dead, and Dis too old to bear more children, the Line of Durin has ceased. Balin and I aren't happy, but we agree with Gandalf. You two need to remain dead. Let Sauron think he's taken the day. For now."

"So. Balin looks to march on Moria and we're stuck playing small town living while the greatest threat to all things marches over Middle Earth." Fili's voice dripped with bitterness. "Can't even raise our blades against him."

"Not yet." Dwalin cautioned. "Later, perhaps. A war will eventually come. You can play your part. But in the meantime, we must keep you two a secret. And safe. There are still two heirs of Durin and Sauron must never know."

Kili looked at Tauriel, his face tragic and yet hopeful as well. "Three."

Dwalin looked at the lad, then followed his gaze to the red-head. Suddenly he paled and swayed as his dark eyes went wide with shock.

"They're married." Fili supplied with some relish at the shock he was delivering. "Dwarven and Elvish traditions both satisfied. With a new generation growing already."

"Dwalin?"

The large warrior leaned his entire weight against the countertop behind him, a buzzing in his ears.

"Dwalin?"

The three other occupants of the room moved toward him, stopping when the large warrior finally stood up tall. His dark eyes hardened and he looked between the three circling him. Those eyes settled on the tall and still slender form of a certain elf.

"So. Not an elf-maid any longer?" His voice was a grumble, but not an angry one.

Tauriel shook her head. "Not quite a dwarrowdam though." She smiled a bit. "She-elf still works, even if the word 'maid' no long applies."

Dwalin searched her face for something, then grunted slightly. Tauriel wondered if she was passing muster or not.

"Master Dwalin?" Kili sounded unsure.

The large dwarrow kept his gaze on Tauriel. "I used the Moria campaign as a ruse to search the area for signs and clues about where Durin's heirs might have gone. I did not expect you." He cleared his throat, looking a bit uneasy. "I have sworn to protect the Line of Durin, against anything and everything."

Fili grimaced and Kili grinned. Tauriel gave a brief nod, unsure where this was going.

"It'll take me a while to disengage from Erebor without raising suspicion or wonder. And I will return. A retired old dwarf past his prime. Useless."

Fili was shocked into an outright laugh at that ludicrous thought. Even Tauriel smiled wanly.

Dwalin continued. "Will you allow me this familiarity?" He paused, clearly embarrassed. "I will have to speak in our language."

"Do you want me to leave?" Tauriel asked, uncertain. She didn't want to tell the large dwarrow that she'd been learning some Khuzdul already.

"No." Dwalin chuckled. "You would need to be here for this to work." He hinted.

Unsure of what was being asked, the pregnant she-elf looked to her husband. Kili grinned widely and nodded encouragingly.

Tauriel gave her assent.

Dwalin bent down, then seemed to think better of it. He knelt down before Tauriel, who looked incredibly startled. But then realized, the dwarf wasn't there for her.

The large dwarven warrior starting speaking in Khuzdul. To her unborn child.

Green eyes looked startled as she tried to pick out the few words of the litany that she could recognize. _Gajijal_ meant follower, and she was pretty sure that _adushun_ was 'to serve'. _Dashunal_ sounded similar, but she didn't know that derivation.

When he was done, Dwalin stood and Tauriel was shocked to see the large warrior looking misty eyed. He chuckled at her look. "You're part of us now, lass. You will probably be hearing Khuzdul more than is proper."

"Kili's teaching her." Fili admitted wryly.

Dwalin froze for a second, considered it, then nodded. "Perhaps best. Don't tell Balin though. I think it would seize up his heart."

Tauriel smiled gently. "There were several words I did not recognize. _Adushun_ means to serve, but _dashunal?_ "

Dwalin stilled, hearing the secret and ancient language solely of the dwarves fall from the lips of an elf. Ruefully he sighed, mocking himself. "That will take some getting used to." He admitted.

"It means the servant." Kili supplied.

Tauriel nodded. " _Zuhuk? Dumith?_ "

Dwalin answered gruffly. "To seal so tight that even air cannot get in or out. _Dumith_ is the blood that is young." His large hand moved over the area of her womb, hovering there, but not touching.

Without thought, the elf reached for his hand and pulled it in so that it was resting directly over the growing child within her.

Dwarf and Elf stared at one another, not speaking, but in perfect accord. He accepting her as a vessel for new life within his race's most beloved bloodline. She accepting of his pledge to protect her child against the greatest evil in Arda itself.

" _Muhud_."

Kili and Fili both stilled, then grinned sloppily pleased.

Dwalin looked startled, at the she-elf calling him a 'blessing' in his own language.

"You should know, however." Tauriel gave him a bigger smile. "I won't be sitting at home knitting."

Dwalin choked back his laughter and nodded.

"And Fili has his pretty eyes cast on a dwarf-maid." She tattled.

The blond drew a breath of protest, then stilled as Dwalin only smiled.

Kili grinned. "And I don't plan on stopping with but one child."

"Planning on keeping an old, useless, retired warrior busy are you?" Dwalin smiled. "Good."


	30. Cowardly

They began adjourning to the 'war room', as they jokingly called it, nearly every night. At first. As the months began to increase and winter at last snowed them into place, the joke wore thin.

Kili wearily poured himself an ale and fair collapsed into the most comfortable chair before Fili could claim it.

The blond walked in next and scowled to see his sibling sprawled in the best chair in the study. "You could have fed the fire at least." He said pointedly.

Kili shrugged and drained his mug, holding it up for a refill as Bofur slid into the room, closing the door behind him. "Dinner went well."

"Yes." Fili nodded. "But the weather looked bad this afternoon. New storm will be blowing in tonight. How are we on supplies?" He poured himself a mug of ale and ignored his brother's outstretched arm.

Kili whimpered and wiggled his empty cup. Bofur moved to take it, but stopped as Fili growled at him. "Amorous sod can get his own ale."

"If I get up he'll steal the seat." Whined Kili.

Bofur rolled his eyes and refilled the younger Durin's cup to Kili's delight, ignoring Fili's scowl. "Oh give over. Since he's the one who's got to get dressed to go out in this mess to pick up more spinach twists."

Kili jerked, his wide eyes flying to meet Bofur's sympathetic gaze. "I picked them up yesterday. We have plenty."

"Had plenty." Bofur commented sadly. "Cowardly got into them. And you are the amorous sod who impregnated the elf."

Kili's mouth twisted and he closed his eyes in frustrated anger. "Then send Fili since he's the sod who brought Cowardly home in the first place."

The blond former-prince sighed, sipping his own ale thinking of the shivering mongrel of a pup too small to make a good working dog among the farms of the area. A runt. Cold and so hungry that ribs were poking out.

A pup who had cried and whimpered, finding a barely warm spot against the garden wall and had been too frightened to eat even the scraps that Fili had tossed to him. "I didn't bring him inside."

Kili sighed. That was true. His brother had merely mentioned the pitiful creature to them all at dinner. It had been Tauriel who had grabbed near an entire steak and rushed outside without her cloak, her poor husband trailing behind her in confusion. Then he'd had to watch his pregnant wife cut small bite size pieces off of HIS steak and feed it to the muddy and ugly creature.

Bofur smiled at the memory with more fondness than did Kili. "You were so gallant, lad. Bringing yer wife'n her cloak to make sure she didn't catch cold."

Fili grinned behind his mug, his blue eyes mocking. "Too bad Tauriel didn't appreciate your efforts. Didn't she take the cloak from you and wrap Cowardly in it? Mud and all?"

"You know she did." Groused Kili. "And now the silly dog has eaten the spinach twisty things."

Fili looked up, putting his mug down with a smirk. "Tell you what, little brother. I will go out and get more twisty things. Just for you. Let you rest a bit by the fire and drink your ale."

The dark-haired dwarf was immediately suspicious. He shared a lengthy look with Bofur, who nodded. The toy-maker smiled. "He wants to see Teldu."

Kili smiled conspiratorially with Bofur. "She still barely talking?"

"Talks plenty to me." The toy-maker walked over to Fili, nudging him in the ribs. "Mostly about you."

Sour face brightening, Fili looked up in hope. So Bofur dashed them just for fun. "Mostly to ask about your schedule so she can avoid you easier."

Kili laughed full and outright, slapping his knee in mirth. "Go on! Go on! Bakery is closed, go to her house and beg for the spinach twisties. She can't avoid you that way."

"I will." Fili replied with the remnants of his tattered dignity, drawing up proudly. "And Kili?"

The younger sibling looked up, still grinning far too widely.

"You get to clean up after Cowardly. There were eleven of those spinach things that he gobbled down. That's going to make a right mess." Fili walked by his brother, tapping him a bit too hard on the top of the head as he spoke.

Kili winced, sputtered and spit out his ale, shutting one eye as he did so. "Damn it!"

Bofur laughed and refilled his mug. "Leaving me with the best chair for the evening. Perfect!"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Teldu stared at their evening visitor with clear disbelief. "The dog?"

Fili nodded his head and shrugged at the same time, frowning and looking down at the female-dwarf's feet. "The dog." He agreed.

Dern watched, turning his head back and forth between the two and rolling his eyes. He looked back at his wife and she smiled benignly, looking pleased.

Cleadeth posed prettily in the doorway of the kitchen, letting her soft curls frame her face. "That sounds like an excuse just to come over here." She teased.

Dern sighed heavily, his back to his younger daughter.

Fili held out his hands, palms up. "I come begging."

"You know, as often as Teldu makes those things for you, you should know the recipe by heart. I do." Cleadeth pouted slightly.

"I am all thumbs in the kitchen." Fili lied outright.

"I could bake them myself, since my sister seems less than willing." Cleadeth smiled becomingly at Fili, twisting one finger in a loose curl and batting her eyelashes in a poor imitation of a fictional heroine in one of the great Elven sagas.

Fili brightened and looked toward the younger daughter. "Oh please?" He almost whispered.

Dern and Nurbera both stiffened as Cleadeth preened under the blond's scrutiny. "Of course!" The younger sibling looked utter pleased. "I'll get started!" She nearly ran to the kitchen.

Teldu blinked twice and shook her head. "Well then …"

"Since your sister is baking. Perhaps you could keep a visitor company while she toils." Fili deftly slipped forward, taking Teldu's arm with his own and leading her to a seat. A love seat.

Dern groaned as his wife chuckled and wiped her hands on her apron. "I'll supervise the …kitchen." She offered, patting her husband on the arm. "You supervise …the visiting."

Fili looked up at Dern as he pressed a bemused Teldu down onto the love seat, taking the place next to her and scooting closer.

The dwarven father shook his head at the clever move and sighed. "Did the dog really eat the spinach twists?"

"Oh, aye." Fili nodded. "Eleven of them. It was an impressive display to be sure."

Teldu scowled lightly and tried unsuccessfully to remove her hand from Fili's grasp. He only smiled wider at her and held onto her hand, even though his hold seemed rather gentle. "Can I have my hand back?"

"You would deprive a cold and weary traveler from the warmth of your touch?" Fili's blue eyes looked upon her with such misery at the very thought.

Teldu chuckled, she couldn't help herself. "Your house is less than half a mile away."

"In the snow." Fili pointed out.

"More like a frost." Teldu countered.

"It nearly came up to my knees. And it's a wet, sucking snow." The blond rejoined.

Teldu gave him half a smile. "Perhaps a heavy frost." She admitted. "Admit it, you FED the dog the spinach twists."

Dern's hand hesitated as he reached for his pipeweed, cocking his eyebrow at the young blond sitting next to his daughter.

"He begged so nicely." Fili whispered. "And he looked so appreciative of such fine baking skills."

Dern filled his pipe, tamping it down strongly before lighting it. Drawing heavily on the pipe to assure it lit properly. This evening was proving entertaining.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili walked into the main living area, frowning at the sound of nails clipping along on the wooden floor. That frown eased considerably when he heard Tauriel's delighted chuckle.

The dark-eyed dwarf spied his wife easily enough, his gaze always went to her first. "Love."

The red-head looked up at the endearment, smiling.

Kili's frown disappeared as he looked at her. Beautiful. Gorgeous. "Tired. You look pale."

Tauriel waved one hand at him as if dismissing the comment. "I'm an elf. We're always pale."

"Paler." Kili insisted, then grunted. The dog had just run into his leg in order to reach the small cloth ball his wife had fashioned as a toy. "Too lazy or stupid to go around me." He grumbled.

"Come Astald."

That brought a smile to his face and Kili walked over toward Tauriel and leaned up to kiss her. "Brave?"

The red-head blinked her green eyes at him in delighted amusement. "I was talking to the dog."

Instantly insulted, Kili drew back, his eyebrows furrowing into a glower. "The dog's name is Cowardly."

"I renamed him. Astald." She leaned down into his space and pressed a kiss to Kili's cheek. "It's elvish."

"And it means 'brave'. I'm learning Sindarin, remember?" Kili grumbled. "That dog is not brave."

"But he grows more so each day. He just needs loved." Tauriel knelt down, holding her hand out to the scruffy little dog.

"Nadorhuon." Kili pointed at the too small canine who was cautiously inching forward with his toy, though his tail was wagging. "That tail is the biggest thing on the pup."

Tauriel didn't answer and Kili turned his head, catching her glare. He drew back slightly. "What did you call him?"

Mentally and verbally backpedalling, Kili held up his hands in surrender. "I was just showing you that I've been paying attention in learning your language. His name is Cowardly and nadorhuon is elvish for 'cowardly dog'."

Tauriel stood to her full height, which instantly put Kili at the disadvantage though he did not back up. Looking up into her beautiful and yet angry green eyes he tried his most endearing smile. "My accent is getting better."

The she-elf's teeth clenched together almost audibly. "Nadorhuon isn't a description. It's an insult."

"But the words mean cowardly dog." Kili widened his eyes in an effort to appear innocent. "His name is cowardly. He's a dog. Or maybe he's an overgrown rat."

Tauriel's green eyes widened as Kili's smile turned cheeky. "You …."

"He ate all your spinach twist thingies." The dwarf suddenly tattled, pointing at the dog now sitting hopefully at the red-head's feet, panting up at her with his long stringy tail wagging back and forth.

"Astald?" Tauriel looked down at the ugly little canine and Kili could about see her heart melt as the runt lifted a paw at her. He sighed.

"At least tell me you love me more than the dog?" He whined.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Nurbera climbed into bed later that evening, looking over at her husband as he stood by the window. "You built them strong and tight, nary a draft."

Pleased by the compliment, Dern patted the solid window ledge fondly. "Nearly a hundred years gone. I had my doubts, wanted to use stone."

"Too expensive to haul in, take too long to quarry. What with Teldu already on the way by then." Nurbera remembered fondly.

Dern turned and padded over to the bed to join his spouse. "I told you then that I'd rebuild with stone when needed. But the house hasn't let us down yet."

"Then stop staring out the window at a snow that won't blanket us, or a cold that can't shake us, and a house that's solid. Speak on what is worrying you." Nurbera scooted in close to her husband's heat, running her chilly toes on his shin.

The strong dwarf grumbled, but didn't push her away. "Fili."

"Coppernose the Elder." Nurbera gently corrected him.

Dern grimaced. "Aye, and that's the problem."

"Name too low for your eldest daughter?" His wife teased him, knowing this wasn't the case.

"Opposite." Dern reproached her, his eyes solemn. "He gave up the title, and the name, but he can't help being … who he is."

"Prince."

"King." Sighed Dern. "Rightful king. Durin's Line."

Nurbera waited him out, knowing her husband had been chewing on this for a long time.

"He's a good lad. Wonderful really. Smart, strong, hard worker. Knows his forge. Knows his warfare. That town guard he's whipping up is better than many cities ten times this size. Come spring, our trading caravans will actually get to their destinations."

"Aye." Nurbera agreed, letting him think through things even as he spoke. "But …"

Dern shook his head sadly. "Dain. King Under the Mountain."

Nurbera nodded carefully. "If he should find out that the true heirs of Durin yet live?"

Dern turned to face his wife, taking her hand in his own. "What becomes of Fili? Or anyone he chooses to marry? Or any children?"

"Deny him then. He'll respect your reasons." His spouse pointed out.

"He will." Dern's lips turned up in an almost pained expression. "But Teldu? She looks at him."

Nurbera nodded, being very careful. "She loves him." She admitted, having seen the same. And also having talked to her daughter. "Child won't admit to any such thing, of course. But her eyes follow him. His name is ever present on her lips."

"Like you did with me?" Dern chuckled dryly, laying back upon his bed and staring up at the ceiling. "And I with you."

"Accept him then." Nurbera poked him in the ribs with rather more force than was necessary. "Not that they need your acceptance. Not with them both of their majorities. But it will be nice."

"And if Dain's soldier's come?"

Nurbera sighed, her thoughts deep. "Fili and Kili survived worse than Dain already. More than once if even half the stories told are true. In truth, I worry more for Tauriel, cut off from her own folk as she is. Gravid."

Dern chuckled. "She seems happy enough. Not going anywhere."

Nurbera's teeth gleamed in the dim light from the moon shining through the window pane as she smiled. "Then it's a good thing that Tauriel and Teldu get along so well."

Dern's smile answered his wife's. Then it faded slowly. It was many long minutes later that he finally cleared his throat. "Do you want me to deny him?"

Another lengthy pause as Nurbera carefully considered her response. "Do you want me to ask you to deny him?"

It would give him a reason if she did. Dern grunted. But a coward's way to make your wife be the reason given. "Do you want me to give approval?"

Nurbera didn't hesitate this time. "Yes. Yes, I think I do."

Shocked, Dern turned to her in the dimness of the bedroom. "Really?"

"Can you imagine how pretty the dwarflings would be?"

Dern groaned, even knowing that his wife wasn't discounting his concerns. She knew them and counted them in with her decision. "You are sure?"

Nurbera's hand found his own beneath the bedcovers. "Sure as I can be." She gave his palm a squeeze. "But it's still in Teldu's hands whether or not anything comes of this."

"Oh, she'll have him." Dern said, closing his eyes. "I have no doubt."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dis dispassionately watched the doors to her well-appointed suite open, then rose as she glimpsed who was coming to visit.

"Your majesty." She bowed her head quite correctly, though it lacked warmth.

Dain's mouth tightened slightly, but he did not seem angry. "I would not have you bow to me, cousin. I've said this before."

Cousin. Every time they saw each other he was stressing their familial bonds. Dis wasn't quite sure why. Blood made them cousins, but they had never been close. Nor distant. Just, related. So why stress the matter? Dain was already crowned King Under the Mountain. His reign was sure and secure. He was descended from Durin the Deathless, same as she. Although hers was the direct line, while his …was not.

"Cousin. King." Dis looked at him coolly. "Will calling you either get me released?"

A heartfelt sigh from the king as he moved past her to open the windows looking outside. "What is the point of requesting rooms on the uppermost floors, near the sun …if you never let the light in? Cousin." He stressed the word again.

Dis wasn't about to explain that she'd been only ten years old when their race was forced from Erebor. She'd spent most of her life topside. Now repatriated to her 'home' she found living underneath a mountain to be stifling. And without her brother and sons, lonely. It was indeed the 'Lonely Mountain' to her.

"Even if I don't see the sun, I need to know it's there." Very un-dwarf like to admit, but still the truth. "Guards follow me everywhere."

Dain nodded, allowing her to change the subject. "But they don't stop you from going anywhere." He pointed out smoothly. "You're free to go anywhere."

"Anywhere as long as it is within Erebor." Dis couldn't help the bitter undertones in her voice.

"Is Erebor so bad?" Dain's words were almost a whisper. His tone spoke of his hope that she would find comfort here. "I know that it must be more than difficult, with all of the losses. But is there no comfort here in living in the kingdom that your family fought so hard to regain for us all?"

Dis stilled. She and Dain had never really argued, but this was the first time that she felt his emotions to be more apparent. "Something is changed." She guessed.

The king actually hesitated and Dis found herself holding her breath. "My wife is pregnant."

No response. Dis couldn't respond. It took several long moments before the words soaked through to her consciousness. Finally she dropped her gaze. "Congratulations."

Dain's mouth twisted. "I know this must hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Dis was genuinely lost. "How so?"

"With the loss of your own two sons." Dain looked over at her and Dis caught her breath. He looked miserable. "I can not imagine the depth of your grief. Of course I knew, but until learning that Rilna carries new life within her, I did not KNOW."

"No." Dis could not, would not, elaborate. Though her grief was from the necessity of separation. As well as true grieving for her brother. "Thorin would have been so pleased."

Dain turned away, looking outside the large windows and out over the vista spread out before Erebor. "Is the Line of Durin dead?"

Dis stopped breathing. He knew!

"Will my child be considered of the Line of Durin?" Dain continued, his back to her and Dis nearly collapsed in relief. No. He didn't know, her sons were still safe.

"You …you are descended from Durin, just as am I." Dis offered, her lungs aching and her head spinning.

"Not just as you." Dain's voice turned dry and he took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. "Yours is the direct line."

To this, Dis was not sure how to respond.

"Rilna is terrified."

Dis blinked and shook her head. "First time pregnancies can be difficult. I'm sure the queen will be fine. She is strong and healthy."

"Terrified that Erebor will fall to Mordor and her child will be devoured. Terrified that fate will punish her child for the sin of not being Durin's Folk directly." Dain turned to her then. "Terrified that the kingdom will not hold."

Dis opened her mouth, but found she wasn't sure what to say. "I … do not understand."

Dain watched her carefully. "There are rumors that I stole the crown."

The dwarrowdam sank down into her chair, not caring that the king was still standing and this was technically against royal protocol. "I have not heard such a rumor."

"No?" The word fairly dripped from his mouth.

Dis' eyes sharpened and she stood once more, moving toward the king. "No. And I am under guard at all times. You know where I go and whom I speak with, probably even what I speak about. So you know. These rumors are not mine, they come not from me."

Dain nodded, not denying the guards. But his gaze held hers still. "Do you believe the rumors though?"

"I travelled from Ered Luin to the Iron Hills, without my brother's knowledge or direction. To be closer. To hear sooner. I carried axe and blade and rode with you when Thorin called for aid." Dis stared at the king with great intensity. "I was here. I know the truth."

"Do you believe these foul rumors?" Dain pressed harder, not willing to be turned aside.

Harder and harder. Dis shook her head and offered the truth as far as she could. "Thorin died of battle wounds. My sons?" She stumbled over the lie, and settled on evasion. "I know that you did not slay either of my sons."

Dain held her gaze for the longest time, then gave a reluctant nod. He started to turn away until her words stopped him.

"But I'm not sure you wouldn't have."

Dain turned back to her, his eyes cold as stone and then slowly he stopped. Breathed. "Those first few days in Erebor ….were difficult." It was a difficult admission.

The gold madness. The lust for power. Thorin had fallen to it, from all accounts told. It was testimony for Dain that he'd overcome it to become a fairly decent king. In her heart though, Dis had to believe that Thorin would have overcome it all too, given the chance.

"But I did not cause their deaths."

"No." Dis nodded, bowing her head to hide her eyes lest they give her away. Dain hadn't killed them. They weren't dead. But the king WAS the reason her sons weren't here in their rightful place. For that, she had no forgiveness to offer.

"Tell Rilna, I beg of you. For what blood we share, for the grief over those that are in the Halls of the Waiting. I ask you."

"As king?"

"As family. It may hurt you to see me sitting where Thorin should have reigned. But we do share blood, cousin."

Dis looked up at that heartfelt plea, startled beyond belief.

Dain nodded to her, his face lined with worry. "Tell my wife that she is not doomed, her child is not ill-fated for an action that I did not do."

"Rilna ever was a one for gossip. Strong dwarrowdam, but superstitious." Dis took a moment, then smiled sadly.

"Even if you hate me. For being alive when they are not. For wearing a crown I was not born to wear. For being an overprotective and overbearing ass of a dwarf."

Dis snorted at that last part.

"Take pity on a pregnant queen and let her know her husband is not a murderer, nor a thief."

Dis stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "Rilna has been nothing but kind to me. I will tell her …" What? Not the truth. No. And not that Dain wasn't a thief either. "I will tell her that you did not cause the deaths of my kin." That was all the truth she had to offer.

Dain nodded, relieved.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Don't put the lanterns out yet." Nurbera instructed gently, putting away her knitting for the evening.

Teldu looked up from her recipe book, then at the time piece over the fireplace. "It's not late. I wasn't planning on it."

The dwarf-maid's mother watched her fondly, then smiled. "Your braids are trying to escape."

Cleadeth sniffed and put down the account ledgers her father was having her transcribe for him. "Mother is trying to say that Fili will no doubt be here shortly."

Fingers went immediately to her hair, then dropped. "Then why aren't you scrubbing the ink stains off your hands?"

The younger of the two sisters looked up, arching an eyebrow. "I'm no fool. He didn't follow me into the kitchen last night to watch me bake. No. He stayed out here with you. Only, when you do the baking? He goes into the kitchen."

Nurbera watched both of her children fondly. "Foolish enough to bake for him though."

Cleadeth shrugged, then gave a self-depreciating laugh. "Well. I was hoping …but no. He turns out to be blind. I can't help that." It was said without the sting of insult, a sisterly jab only.

Teldu smiled, and then frowned as there was a knock on the door.

Cleadeth gathered up her father's account books. "I'll just take these upstairs, shall I?"

"Get the door, dear." Nurbera nodded at Teldu, who groaned but got up to obey.

No surprise. "Coppernose the Elder." The apprentice baker stood at the door, looking up into the amused blue eyes of the blond dwarrow. "Did the dog eat all the spinach twists again?"

Fili grinned. "Er. No. Kili threatened to kill me in my sleep if I fed them to Cowardly again. Apparently the runt got a VERY upset stomach." He mock shuddered at the threat.

"So. Why are you here? Trekking through the even deeper snow than yesterday?" Teldu continued to block the door, shivering as the mentioned snow blew in at her from the outside.

Fili walked toward her, crowding her space with an arrogant grin. It was back up or let him rub up against her. She backed away, but her skin prickled in denied anticipation which she ruthlessly decided was because of the cold weather instead. "I didn't say you could come in."

"I didn't ask." Fili winked. "But I come bearing gifts."

Teldu's spooky blue eyes blinked, and dropped to his hands. "Those are nice furs."

"They'll make fine boots." The blond nodded. "Kili sends them with his thanks."

Teldu crossed her arms over her chest as Fili moved inside far enough to shut the door behind him. "Does Kili really? Or is this another feeble excuse?"

The blond turned his sapphire gaze on her, pretending shock. "I never lie."

The young dwarf-maid raised a finger. "Coppernose the Elder."

"I never lie much. And not without good reason." Fili amended.

"Hamnar's son." Teldu held up a second finger.

"No." Fili shook his head, his braids damp from the miserable weather outside. "That's only one lie still, it is part of the Coppernose the Elder thing. Not that I admit to lying about that, of course." He leaned in toward her. "I'm chilled, is there a fire going already?"

Teldu held up a hand to stop him, but he simply pushed the furs into her hand and walked into the main family room. Upon spying Nurbera, the blond warrior's face lit up. "Good to see you this evening!"

"Get you to the fire, Master Coppernose." Teldu rolled her eyes at her mother's welcoming tone. "I'll be in the kitchen if I am needed."

With that, Nurbera left the room.

Teldu stared after her mother with open-mouthed shock. Fili straightened, looking around the room most carefully. "Your father?"

The dwarf-maid pointed upstairs.

Fili blinked, then grinned. "We're alone?"

Teldu shook her head. But it was merely in denial of the truth.

"We're alone." Fili stated this time, rather than asking. "I won them over."

But the apprentice baker wasn't quite as won over as her parents. Her spooky blue eyes sharpened as Fili moved toward her, and her back stiffened considerably. "Stop!"

The blond did stop. In front of her. Still grinning. "We're alone." He reminded her. "Not sure for how long."

"Not long at all if I start screaming." Teldu hissed.

Fili blinked, suddenly unsure. "Screaming?"

Exasperated, Teldu elbowed him aside, moving into the room from the hallway. "It's not my parents you have to win over. It's me."

Fili turned to her with a certain youthful swagger in his attitude. Teldu's gaze narrowed on him in agitation. "No."

"Why?" He asked simply. "I like you. I enjoy your temper. Your sharpness. You are mean, and smart, and lovely and …."

"Mean?" Teldu squeaked, her eyes now wide. "Calling me mean won't win you anything."

"Mean." Fili nodded, advancing toward her slowly. "I like mean."

"I'm not mean." Protested the dwarf-maiden, her soft brown hair catching the glow from the fireplace. Then she pointed at him. "You! My sister called you a lion once, and I think she's right. You're stalking me!"

Fili caught her hand and tugged her in next to him. Teldu immediately shivered for dual reasons. One, because his leathers were still cold and damp from being outside. Two, because his mere presence made her blood heat up far too quickly. "Lions are good at catching prey."

Teldu blinked and realized he was leaning in to steal a kiss. She squealed, ducked, jabbed him in the gut with her elbow and spun out of his reach breathing hard.

"See? Mean." Fili nodded. "Walk out with me."

"It's snowing still!" The soft-brunette waved a hand in the general direction of outdoors. Typical courting behavior involved a lot of walking and hand holding. "Where would you have us walk?"

"To Mirrenda's for the Yule celebration."

Stunned beyond belief, Teldu stared. "You're serious."

"Very." Fili's playful demeanor melted away like so much snow, leaving him solemn as he stared at her. "I want you by my side."

Teldu stared at him, then shook her head. "I don't even know who you really are."

Fili nodded, knowing this would be a big obstacle. Dwarves set great store by lengthy family lines. To ask her to allow him to court her openly without this vital information, was a huge leap of faith. "Your father knows me."

The pretty dwarf-maid swallowed quickly and blinked at him. "He doesn't share that information with me."

"It's dear information." Fili told her gravely, not liking keeping her in the dark. But it wasn't only his life on the line. Not with his brother expecting a child with his wife.

"I don't even know if I like you." Teldu threw that out there.

Fili grinned. "Yes you do."

"Arrogant. Over-bearing. Always have to be right. Take control. Walking right into trouble despite the odds."

"Hey!"

"Don't contradict me!" Teldu snapped. "You're the one who ran in screaming battle cries and attacking orcs."

"That saved your life!" Fili smirked at her.

"There were still more of them than there were of you." She smirked back at him.

Fili grinned. "That didn't help them, now did it?"

"Arrogant! Did I mention arrogant! It's like you're the king of Brookshire and you expect everyone to fall into line! You want a wall, oh now the town is building a wall. You want your brother to marry an elf without reciting his lineage, bang! There's the party. You want humans and dwarves to mingle and get along, suddenly there it all is! King Fili!"

The blond paled, staring at her. "Don't."

Teldu walked into his space this time, poking him in the chest. "Well, your idiotic majesty, you can't point at me and say court me and expect me to fall into the neat little place you made for me in your life! I have my own life! I have plans too!"

Fili responded to any number of stimuli. First. She was close, too close. Second, he didn't need her dwelling on his 'royal' attitude. Third. She was close, too close. And her mouth was conveniently open.

"My plans don't include …Mmmph!" Fili's tongue rubbing against her own, her lips now meeting his, and his rock hard arm wrapped around the small of her back all helped shut Teldu up.

Funnily enough? She didn't push him away. She thought she meant to shove him back. That's why her hands went to his chest. Palms flat and ready to push against him. Only they betrayed her, sliding around to the back of his shoulders, clinging.

Fili pulled back, causing her to shudder and make a nonverbal protest. Only to squeak a bit as he rubbed his lips against the sensitive column of her throat. "You have plans?"

Teldu nodded, quivering as the movement rubbed his lips and mustache against her collarbone as he leaned in to nibble.

"Plans?" He teased, pressing his palm against the small of her back, bringing her in tighter to him.

"Bakery." She mumbled.

Fili nodded. He'd heard her speak on her desires before. "You want your Mastery. I know."

"Good." Teldu whined as he pulled back, then sighed happily as he merely switched to the other side of her neck.

"Because you won't allow anyone to court you that won't let you pursue your own dreams." Fili nodded, the motion teasing her soft skin and making her knees begin to shake.

"Right." Teldu mumbled, moving her hands to the back of his hair and tugging to bring his face back up to hers. He smiled and kissed her again. When the two finally came up for air, she blinked and then smiled. "So. You'll take me?"

Fili grinned widely, pulling her even tighter against him so she could feel the evidence of how much he wanted to 'take' her. "So soon?"

"Not until summer." Teldu whispered, closing her eyes to the sheer amount of heat he was pulling out of her.

Fili stilled. "Summer?" He was all for waiting and being proper, for the most part. But …summer? "You're trying to kill me." He whined, burying his face in the crook of her neck again.

"It'll make travel easier."

Fili pulled back, staring into her eyes, so pale a blue they always looked a bit spooky to him. "Travel?"

"To take me to sit for my Mastery in baking." She stared up at him, completely missing the more sensual connotation for the term 'take'. Fili groaned.

"And since Erebor has been retaken, perhaps that would be the best place to sit for my Mastery." Teldu smiled up at him.

Fili let her go so quickly you would have thought someone had just dropped a mountain of snow on his head. "Erebor?"

Teldu blinked at the sudden perceived chill in the air. "Fili?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

The kitchen door slammed and Kili visibly jumped, looking up guiltily.

Fili ignored him as he began pacing the kitchen.

Kili watched him, knowing where his brother had been. "Dern turn you away?"

"Left us alone together." Contradicted the still pacing blond, so full of nervous and possibly angry energy.

The younger sibling watched for another beat or two, then asked. "She turn you down?"

"No. Somewhat. Maybe. Not really."

Kili's eyebrows arched up and he shook his head. "Glad that's clear."

"Wants me to take her to sit her Mastery. Erebor." Fili stopped and stared at his younger brother.

"You can't." Kili's shoulders slumped.

"She offered to go to the Iron Hills. When she sensed I wasn't keen on that, she asked about Ered Luin."

Kili's dark eyes closed and he sighed in sympathy.

"I reassured her that I do want her to gain her Mastery, but that I just can't accompany her."

"Damn." Kili finished cutting up the left over chicken, putting it in a bowl.

Fili stopped and growled, then sighed. "She thinks I'm not being supportive. Tossed me out in the snow."

"Cold." Kili grinned at his own little joke, pulling a sharp and possibly dangerous looking from his older sibling.

"I'll fix it. Somehow." Fili promised, then pointed at the bowl of chicken. "Tell me that's for your sweet wife."

Kili hesitated.

"It's for that mutt, isn't it?"

Kili shrugged and smiled weakly. "My wife thinks that after the debacle with the spinach twists, this would be kinder on Cowardly's stomach."

The blond studied his brother for a long moment, then sighed. "She's not even a full four months along yet."

"I'm pitiful. I know." Kili admitted.

Bofur padded into the kitchen in his stocking feet, yawning. "Lads."

The brothers nodded to the toy-maker in greeting. Fili pointed to the rope twist in Bofur's hand. "What kind of toy is that?"

Bofur muttered darkly, then sighed. "It's for the dog. Tauriel wanted him to have something to gnaw on that will clean his teeth, strengthen his mouth and still be fun."

Fili threw up his hands in disgust. "When did we go from being powerful dwarrows and warriors to nursery maidens? This is ridiculous! Dancing to the tune of females!"

Bofur shrugged. "I like it when Tauriel's happy. Especially when she'n be carrying the next generation."

Kili grinned. "I get to sleep with my gorgeous and grateful wife. While you just got tossed out into the cold snow by your lass."

Bofur's attention was snagged and he turned to grin at the young blond dwarrow. "Tossed out? Really? What'd you do laddie?"

Fili groaned, running a tired hand over his face.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the delay. Needed inspiration. Hope you enjoy! Sorry if there are any editing errors, I'm almost bleary eyed and need to go to bed. Night!


	31. Rumors

"He should tell her."

Kili frowned thoughtfully, his clever fingers running the fine bone comb through his wife's long hair. "I think it's gotten thicker and shinier since you've been pregnant." He didn't comment on Fili's love life. Or lack of one. The topic had been talked to death already.

Tauriel smiled, leaning back unconcerned on the low seat that her brother-in-law had hand crafted for her. Kili was standing behind her as he basically petted her hair as much as run the comb through it all. There were no tangles left to tackle, but he continued his ministrations. "I can manage." She teased, giving a playful tug on her red locks.

A rumble of a growl had her laughing, and had the sleepy dog resting on her feet looking up in confusion and a soft whine. Her husband seemed as fascinated with her red hair as if it were something precious mined from the ground. "I know it's not that you haven't seen red hair before, just look at your cousin Gloin."

"Can't. He's not here." Kili replied in a dry tone, giving a small tug on her hair to keep her in line. "And you are far prettier to look upon."

"So what is your fascination with my hair?" His wife yawned lazily, looking out the window at the inner courtyard garden, lit with three lanterns at the moment. It was early to be dark, but such was winter. Tauriel suddenly paused. "Why is the courtyard alight?"

"Two questions." Kili sighed with mock unhappiness. "Well, I am fascinated with your hair. Because it's yours." He leaned in and kissed the side of her face near her temple. "And I lit the courtyard torches so … we could watch it snow."

She laughed rich and full, shaking her head while managing not to dislodge his fingers from her hair. The she-elf rather enjoyed her husband's fascination, a routine they'd fallen into only about two months ago and one that pleased them both.

"You laugh at me?" Kili drew in a deep breath, false hurt dripping from his voice.

"You lit them for Astald, did you not?" Tauriel dropped one hand down toward the dog who licked her long, elegant fingers having recognized his name.

"Cowardly." Kili hissed with another deep sigh. "He's afraid of the dark, won't do his business unless I light the lanterns."

"You spoil him."

That was so patently unfair that Kili huffed for real this time. "You accuse me of your own actions. You're the one spoiling the dog. I despair for our child and that you will spoil him too."

"Could be a her." Teased the pregnant elf, even knowing that most dwarven children were indeed male. Tauriel's free hand went to her barely rounded midsection, feeling the stretch of the ties on her tunic. Her fingers worried the cloth that was no longer closing as tautly as she was used to. "I'm getting fat."

Her husband's fingers stilled in her hair and he leaned down beside her, his dark eyes alight with wonder. "Was that a complaint? An actual comment of ….vanity?"

Tauriel's green eyes narrowed on him and she bared her teeth in a snarl. "No."

"It was! It was vanity! I thought you assured me that you had none, when was that …oh yes, that was when you called ME vain! Only because I got a little angry at the dog …"

"What does it matter if your boots have a few tooth marks? There was a thunderstorm, he was frightened. The boots were unpierced."

"Only because he was too much of a coward to actually bite them! And the leather is scarred now." Kili pulled her hair back into a loose braid for sleeping. "And you're not fat." At that point his fingers actually left her hair to settle on the slope of her collar bones and slide down to palm her burgeoning cleavage with a dark leer. "A certain plumpness here has been most agreeable though."

Bofur walked into the room, heard the last comment and saw where certain hands were wandering. He turned around to leave the room with a cheerful whistle and averted gaze.

Tauriel reached up and gently swatted at Kili's clever hands even as they kneaded her sensitive bosom. The pregnancy was doing interesting things to her figure, and heightening the potency of her nerve endings. "Stop that."

"Don't wanna." Kili leaned in and whispered in her ear.

The red-headed elf moaned, making the dog at her feet sit up in sharp interest. He'd grown in the past two months and no longer looked like skin and bones. His tawny coat had the sheen of a much improved diet as Astald stretched up to put his paw on Tauriel's knee. His brown-amber eyes narrowed on Kili and he barked in concerned warning.

"Such a darling." Tauriel said quietly, even as the dog on her feet head-butted her hand in a demand to be petted.

Kili sighed in mock-hurt. "Did you have a whole pack of dogs back in the Mirkwood?"

Tauriel swiveled around to look at her husband, raising her hand to cup his stubble roughened cheek. "You know that's not true. I have spoken of my life there."

Relaxing under her regard, the dark-haired dwarf gave her a wide grin that masked his inner disquiet. Yes, his wife had told him of her life before they'd met. A whole lot about duty and training, and not much about LIVING. "So. Go a bit wild and marry a dwarf and adopt a mutt. What's next?"

"Getting ready for tonight's Yule party at Mirrenda's."

Kili's laugh rolled over her as he fairly shook with amusement. "Always so literal, she-elf."

"I love you."

The simple words and the soft look in her eyes stopped Kili's laughter immediately. His humor faded into a look of need. Not sexual, but deeper than that. Emotional and primal. "Mine." He whispered gutturally as his hand reached up to run a thick finger lightly over her cheekbone.

"So greedy." She whispered back, teasing as she lovingly traced the lines of his face with her eyes. Slowly she turned her face toward his touch as he opened his palm. Tauriel rubbed her cheek against his hand.

Kili leaned in to steal a kiss, making a dark protest when she pulled back with a smile. "Love, we don't have time. We have to get ready for Mirrenda's party."

The dark-eyed dwarf said something not very complimentary about the human female town council member.

"You like Mirrenda." His red-haired wife reminded him as she stood, pulling a reluctant Kili behind her.

"Usually." He admitted ruefully. "But not right at this moment." He said, sending a longing look at his wife's swaying hips.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili looked up at the sharp whistle of admiration, spying Bofur grinning at him from the open doorway to his study. The hatted dwarf nodded in appreciation at the younger blond dwarf.

The self-exiled prince and former heir straightened, holding out both of his arms and turning. "I pass inspection?"

"Laddie? You'n never looked finer except in the gold and mithral ar ….laddie, no dwarrowdam will be able to take'n her eyes off'n you tonight." Bofur put a sorrowful hand to his chest. "Us older dwarrow stand no chance."

Fili ignored his friend's initial words, knowing he'd been talking about the armor that they'd worn into battle. The armor that had come from the treasure troves of Erebor. Reminding them all strongly of Thorin, and his loss. "I miss him too."

Bofur's shoulder's slumped a bit and he nodded. "He'd be proud of you."

"By Nain's Bearded Ass he'd have my head!" Fili nearly choked on his laughter. "Leaving the throne and hiding?"

"Don't be thinking of it like that, laddie!" Bofur protested sharply, moving from humor to utter seriousness. "He'd be proud."

"He was furious with both of us. Kili for arguing with him and for the way he was looking at Tauriel. Me?" Fili's breath wooshed out with a heartfelt sigh. "For not agreeing with him, for trying to pull him out of his dragon-sickness. He'd be disappointed. And yelling."

Bofur's face gentled and he smiled with a terrible sadness. "There were questions of including you'n your brother on the quest."

Fili's blue eyes sharpened with temper, but he held his tongue back. "Oh?"

"From me. From others. You'n be the heir, and Kili …well, the lad be a grand fighter but young. And the last of the direct line." Bofur shook his head and shrugged. "Thorin never questioned your worth, or your being at his side. He said it was your right, and he sounded proud. Damned proud."

Fili's gaze slipped away from the other dwarrow's, taking a deep breath around the sudden lump in his throat.

"Don't remember your uncle as he was when the dragon-sickness took ahold of him'n." Bofur said quietly. "He thought the world of you and your brother, and he was ..and would be proud. Thorin was a pragmatist of the best sort. He'd chafe at being here, just as you are. But he too would put the future of his people before personal pride or gain. Just like you."

"It burns, Bofur." Fili admitted, his voice hoarser than he'd have liked. "It rubs at something in my soul every single day. That mountain should be his. Mine."

Bofur stared at the young blond, hearing the pain that the youth usually kept so well hidden. He had little to offer beyond the basic truth of things. "You speak of the mountain and the throne, not the gold. Oh laddie, you put the lives of our people before your own needs."

Fili snorted in derision and denial.

"You do, laddie. If it was all about you, you could raise an army and take it from Dain. Line of Durin and all that. You don't, because you don't want the ensuing civil war and the devastation it would cause our people. You hear what the wizard and the elves say about what is needed to keep Mordor at bay, even if it means denying everything you were raised to know as your own."

"Bofur …"

But the hatted dwarf wasn't finished, he stepped further into the room. His eyes beyond serious. "Dain be a not bad king, but you would be beyond brilliant. And yes. Thorin, my great friend, would have been proud."

Nearly choking, Fili held it together. Barely. He nodded grimly and then gave a weak chuckle. "Even though I let my brother marry an elf?"

Bofur was startled into a tension relieving laugh, and he even had to wipe a sudden tear from his eye. "Oh, for that …well, I'm surprised that Thorin hasn't overturned the Halls of the Waiting to come back and trounce poor Kili for that bit of folly."

"Folly?" Fili questioned.

"Oh, I don't mean it like that." Bofur waved off the word without heat. "I like the lass. I mean, I really like her. She's a good'n. And she's good for your brother. But Thorin would have taken some convincing on the matter."

The blond dwarf laughed, knowing that to be a tremendous understatement.

"Now. About your own bit of folly." Bofur rubbed his hands together. "Teldu."

Fili groaned, dropping his head back and looking up at the ceiling.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Retire? That would kill you with boredom. If you want to die I can fling you at a pocket of goblins, wargs or orcs. Your choice." Dain snorted as he flipped through the various parchments and lists without really looking up.

Dwalin yawned deliberately, trying to remember what his brother Balin had told him. Look tired and defeated. He grimaced as King Dain looked up at last.

"Did you eat something disagreeable? You look like you've been sucking on lemons."

The bald and tattooed warrior let the expression go. Apparently he wasn't good at play acting. "I will finish out any duties you have lined up for me, but at the end of that I will be leaving Erebor."

At the matter-of-fact words, Dain finally put down the parchment from the town of Dale. "You're serious?" The king looked incredulous. Dwalin was a warrior born and bred, retiring to a life of solitude and quiet just didn't seem like it fit him somehow. "I …" Suddenly Dain frowned. "Is this because I disagree with Balin about trying to re-take Khazad-dum?"

Dwalin waffled a hand back and forth and shook his head at the same time. "I and my brother don't agree about that accursed place. No. I wish him all the support I can muster, but I will not be returning there again."

Dain nodded. He'd too been at that disastrous and costly battle, a dubious victory to say the least. And that had been OUTSIDE of Khazad-dum, not even walking in the doors. They'd lost King Thror there, while Thrain had been lost his grip on sanity. "I think Balin is wrong. Durin's Bane is still there."

Dwalin made a face and rolled his shoulders. "I don't agree, and neither does Balin. But …it's not for me." He paused and sighed. "The taste of blood spoils the meat."

It was an old Dwarvish saying among their warriors. When the cost of battle outweighed any possible reward. Battle weariness.

Surprised, Dain actually sat back and eyed the tattooed dwarrow. "I never thought I'd hear that from you."

"I find myself missing those who have gone on before me." Dwalin admitted, sharing only part of the truth. Yes. He was tired of losing those he cared about. But this 'retirement' was more so that he could go and protect the ones he had left.

He and his brother did not agree on this. Balin truly wanted to regain Khazad-dum, that which was known to many as Moria. He did not want to stay in Erebor without Thorin. Neither did Dwalin, but for him it was not lost dwarven kingdoms that called to him. It was blood. Durin's blood. Fili. Kili. The new babe even now growing inside an elf of all people.

Neither he nor Balin felt comfortable remaining here. Too many memories. Life before Smaug, the desolation caused by the dragon, and the loss of loved ones during the re-taking of Erebor. Without Thorin, this place wasn't home. There was a pall here. And the first full breath he'd pulled into his lungs had happened in a human town called Brookshire.

Just how much he had missed the brothers hadn't even been brought home to him until he'd held them once more.

"What would you do?" Dain asked, pulling the bald warrior from his musings.

"I don't know." Dwalin shrugged. Dissembling was not his forte to say the least. Lying was a diplomat's game, not for a warrior born and bred. "Travel. Maybe guard some caravans."

"I. Erebor, we would hate to lose you." Dain said.

Dwalin looked at the King Under the Mountain, feeling heavy of heart. This dwarrow was a cousin, more distantly than Thorin had been. But still connected by blood. Dain was an honorable king and the epitome of a fine dwarrow. If things had been different, this was a king he could have followed.

But Dwalin had seen Thorin's descent into dragon-sickness first hand. And he'd seen the same mad look in Dain's eyes, at least in those first few weeks. The king had pulled himself from the verge of insanity and had begun rebuilding the kingdom. A truly remarkable feat. "I honor you."

Dain eyed the warrior before him, then grunted. "But I'm not Thorin."

Dwalin's eyes dropped briefly, then reconnected. "I …."

"No." Dain interrupted him, holding up one strong hand. "I understand."

Not for the first time, Dwalin wondered about revealing the fact that the Line of Durin still lived. He was pretty sure Dain would actually be relieved.

But Dwalin had spoken at length with Gandalf, and even Lord Elrond that pasty-faced greenery eating elf. He'd then gone to Oin, who had read the signs himself.

It all came down to Mordor. As long as Sauron thought that Durin's line was severed then they were no safer than any other kingdom in Middle Earth. But …if the Deceiver learned that Fili and Kili lived then nothing would stop- the Lord of Mordor from having them hunted down.

"As long as Durin's Line thrives, Erebor will not fall." Dwalin said the words in a long sigh.

Dain tensed up, then groaned. "Balin told you?"

The bald warrior ignored the irritated look of his monarch. "You hold the Lady Dis too tightly."

Baring teeth, the dwarven king narrowed his eyes dangerously. "She is the last of Durin's Line. It behooves us to keep her safe."

"Safe is not the same as thriving." Dwalin said quite honestly. What he really worried about was Fili feeling cut off, growing tired of playing it 'safe' and in hiding.

Dain unclenched his hands and sighed heavily. "The Lady Dis does seem …angry." It was a huge understatement and they both knew it.

"This place is poison to her." Dwalin commented, treading carefully. Not wanting to anger the king, but needing to make his argument. Better that Balin should do it, as he was the more clever speaker. But his brother and Dain had argued much already on the subject of Khazad-dum. Prudence said this conversation be left to someone on better terms with their ruler.

Dain shook his head. "The portent readers tell me that Durin's Line continues and bears fruit."

Dwalin's teeth made a whistling sound as he sucked in air through his clenched jaw. Whether or not to tell the king turned into an instinct simply to protect. An unguarded confession could be disastrous right now.

"The queen is pregnant." Dain continued, luckily not noticing the warrior's closing eyes as relief filled him.

"Congratulations." Dwalin said with true happiness. "So. Those who read the signs say that the Line of Durin continues with your child?"

Dain fell silent, staring straight at Dwalin but it was if he saw nothing. Finally the king shrugged. "They tell me that's the only possible explanation."

Dwalin waited, but the king didn't seem ready to celebrate. "Dain. King Under the Mountain. Cousin. What bothers you?"

The royal dwarf sighed heavily and shook his head. "I have no idea." Suddenly he scowled. "That's too close to a lie. I am bothered because I am NOT the direct line of Durin."

"You're as close as we have left to us." Dwalin said with a straight face. "Would you be happier if Fili were here? And king in your place?" After speaking, he held his breath.

"Maybe." Dain laughed as if in pain. "Though everyone tells me the only reason Mordor isn't overrunning our still rebuilding defenses right now is because the direct line is dead."

Life was so much easier with a clear enemy and a clear objective. Dragon. Kill the dragon and regain a home. Damn it all. Dwalin was glad he hadn't eaten yet, otherwise his gorge might be rising about now.

"Gandalf was visiting earlier, while you were out garnering support for your brother's folly." Dain turned the topic before Dwalin could decide whether or not to speak up.

Surprised, Dwalin's eyes widened. "Oh?"

"He is very worried about Mordor. Anxious that we ally with the Elves and the Humans. I told him my concerns about the lines of descent breaking."

Dwalin bit his tongue.

Dain scowled and shook his head. "The wizard speaks in riddles. But he said the Line of Durin would hold, and so would Erebor."

"Doesn't sound like a riddle." Dwalin commented blandly.

"No it doesn't." Dain agreed unhappily. "But it still sounded like one! I'm afraid I can't trust him like Thorin did. It's like he withholds information from me and answers nothing fully."

The bald warrior wasn't sure what to do. Cagey or not, he still trusted Gandalf enough to hold his words. For now. Instead he returned to something important. "If your child does continue the Line of Durin. Surely you can let the Lady Dis move to somewhere where she can find a bit of peace herself?"

Dain snorted. "Where could I send her where she'd be safe and thrive at the same time? She lost more than most, I know that better than any other. Erebor brings her pain, so would Ered Luin. Should I send her to the Iron Hills? No? What of the other dwarrow clans? There IS no place to send her to ease her pain."

Brookshire. But Dwalin could not say that.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

The ambush was planned perfectly. The unsuspecting group of dwarrow all looked up at him as he stepped out of the darkness, bowing low.

Cleadeth's mouth had dropped open, startled. But then she smiled and nudged her sister toward him.

Teldu gave him a disgruntled look. "What are you doing here?"

"Walking you to the Yule celebration." Fili's arrogant smile hid his actual nerves. Would she turn him away? "You all look lovely." His blue eyes moved from the mother to the two daughters, settling on a certain one.

Fili's smile warmed as Teldu's fingers betrayed her own nerves, smoothing out her thick winter cloak.

"Daughter? Where are your gloves?" Dern asked, seeing the gesture as well. "It's too cold to go without."

"I couldn't find them, but my hands will be within my cloak and it's not far." Teldu blushed, not wanting to look childish in front of a certain blond dwarrow.

"Then it is good that I brought my Yule gift over." Fili grinned, presenting her with a fine pair of soft leather gloves stitched with dwarven runes and designs.

"Yule gift?" Dern looked confused, but his wife was smiling. "Nurbera?" He asked in sudden suspicion of collusion.

"Humans give gifts at Yule time." Fili responded, though his eyes didn't leave Teldu's face.

Dern shifted his weight in uncertainty. Dwarves didn't give gifts at Yule, that was a Durin's Day thing for their race. "Were we supposed to have gifts tonight?"

Fili shook his head. "I spoke with Mirrenda about the cultural differences. The humans have been informed that we celebrate Yule a bit differently."

"Yet you brought me a gift? I'm not human." Teldu couldn't help but reach for the lovely gloves, marveling at the butter-soft feel of the fine leather. Still, she didn't move to put them on. Not yet. All of a sudden her eyes narrowed. "My gloves go missing, and you just happen to have a new pair on you tonight?"

Fili smiled.

Teldu sighed and looked at the possible suspects. Her father simply looked confused while both her mother and sister were smiling gently. It could have been either of them. "Unfair."

Cleadeth's smile grew exponentially. Teldu sighed, well that was one mystery solved. "Mother?"

Nurbera clucked her tongue and shrugged. "Call him clever, take the gloves and let's get to the party and out of the cold."

Teldu's spooky blue eyes turned back to the arrogantly grinning male who was waiting patiently. When He saw her gaze back on him he held out his hands. "If you don't want to wear the gloves, you can always hold my hands for the trip over to Mirrenda's house. You'll be cold otherwise."

Maneuvered into donning the fine gloves, Teldu gave in with ill grace. A scowl on her face as she tugged them on with a bit more force than necessary. Her glare promised retribution. "You wait."

Fili grinned. "I ate dinner already, so I won't need anything to eat at the party." He said, knowing she'd understand that he'd been prepared for her to sabotage her food.

"I never repeat myself." She told him with a clear threat in her tone.

Dern dropped his head and shook it sadly. "Boys. Every other dwarrow has boys. I could have had boys. So much easier."

Nurbera shoved her husband's shoulder, though not hard enough to throw his balance off. She was smiling happily.

"I for one am glad you were so blessed." Fili said smugly, offering one arm to Teldu and the other to Cleadeth.

"I'm going to Erebor in the Spring. Received a message from one of the master bakers there." Teldu turned her cute nose up in the air. "Does your escort duties extend that far?"

Unsurprised by the question, Fili's smile didn't falter but he did choose his words carefully. "I have spoken with your father about taking you as far as the Mirkwood while he and Bofur take you into Erebor."

Teldu's mind spun and her tongue stilled. Her eyebrows rose as she clearly needed to mull over the announcement.

Cleadeth reached out and tugged on her older sister's arm, wrapping it around Fili's and winking at him before moving up to join her mother and father. "I'm cold. Let's leave them out here and move on."

Dern shook his head even as his spouse laughed and nodded. "We can't just leave them." He protested with a wave.

Nurbera shrugged. "What, you think they'll get inappropriate in the freezing cold and deep snow?"

Dern sighed, reluctantly following after his wife and younger daughter as he looked back at the courting couple behind him. "The lad snuck out her gloves from under our noses, who knows what else he's capable of?"

"Oh da." Cleadeth rolled her eyes and reached back, tugging him along after her.

Teldu ignored the other dwarrow leaving her behind, staring into Fili's bright blue eyes. "It's not because you object to my trying to become a master baker, is it?"

Fili shook his head very seriously, despite the smile still gracing his rather sensual looking lips.

Teldu sighed, taking a deep breath. "Tell me."

"Marry me." He countered.

Shock filled her eyes and her mouth dropped open.

The blond laughed at her and shook his head. "Or at least walk out with me, allow me to seriously court you."

"Trust is a big part of a strong relationship." Teldu rejoined.

Fili nodded, stepping closer to her. She didn't back away. "It's not only my story to tell."

Teldu looked up into his eyes, starting to feel a bit warmer than she should considering the thick blanket of snow surrounding them. "You don't trust me?"

"Oh no." Fili grinned suddenly, laughing at her. "That's a trap and I see it. Now see me stepping around it very, very carefully. I do trust you, or I'd never seek to keep your company. But there are some things that you need to be sure you want to know. Very sure."

Teldu nodded, still looking up at him.

After a long moment, Fili's smile started to fade. But not into anything remotely unhappy. Heat filled his eyes. "Say something or kiss me."

The female dwarf blinked twice in quick succession, then her lips twitched. "Or I could walk away."

"You could try." It sounded like a dare.

"What would you do if I tried?"

"Kiss you."

She felt her breath hitch. "And if I stayed?"

"Kiss you."

"So my only option is to say something?"

Fili suddenly wrapped his arms around her. "It was. But you lost that opportunity. Now you're stuck."

"What are …" She didn't get to finish that sentence before his lips found hers.

A moment of striking heat and then she squealed in abject protest as the side of her face suddenly stung from something very icy, very wet, and very unexpected.

Fili roared, looking up in shock and anger.

Dern glowered at the duo. "Yule celebration. This way. Now please."

Teldu laughed ruefully and swiped the remains of the snowball from her face and shaking her hand to fling off the cold moisture.

The dwarven father watched them both with satisfaction.

Fili groaned, but pasted a smile to his lips and offered Teldu his arm. "This conversation is not over."

"Indeed not." Teldu acknowledged.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"So, you have good news?" Dis spoke carefully. Not that she particularly thought that her every word was delivered to Dain. But his guards still watched her.

"Recruitment is slow, but proceeding." Dwalin said with a frown and then looked at the guards in the room. "Get out."

The two guards looked at each other nervously. Then one swallowed and dropped his head. "We have orders to protect the princess."

"Inside Erebor? From me?" The bald-headed warrior sounded irately dangerous. "Perhaps she wants to speak in private?"

Dis glanced up speculatively, then sent a blank look at her guards. Both were battle toughened, but young. "Never mind them. Act like they're not there, love."

Love. Both guards looked surprised.

Dwalin turned stunned eyes on her and she smiled at him encouragingly. "Have you spoken with our cousin yet?" She asked, meaning the king. "About us?"

Us? Dwalin was quick on the uptake, but he didn't know if he had it in him to play the role she was suggesting. "I just came from speaking Dain." He said, deliberately leaving off the royal title and thus suggesting a closer relationship than the two really shared.

Dis moved in closer to him and Dwalin eyed her like a warg about to attack. Luckily the two young guards could only see his back. They apologized swiftly and backed out of the room even faster, shutting the door firmly behind them.

Dis' face cracked into a wide grin.

Dwalin grimaced. "Did ya have to?" He moaned.

"It's the only thing that's worked yet." Dis grinned. "And I don't know how long it'll work. Give over."

"Found your missing treasure." Dwalin spoke, deliberately using no names in case they weren't quite as alone as they appeared. "One is bearing new gifts."

Dis' face showed her confusion.

Dwalin wondered how clear he could make it. "Your farmer friend, with the hat?"

She nodded, knowing the reference to be Bofur.

"Has three new head of cattle. Two steers and a cow."

Dis smiled evilly to hear of the she-elf thus described. It was a petty form of revenge, but the red-head deserved that and worse, marrying her baby like that!

"There will be a fourth soon as the cow is proving to be fertile."

The smile disappeared as if whisked away by a sudden storm. Her eyes turned tragic and greedy. "You are certain?"

"I have sworn."

Tears gathered in Dis' usually bright eyes and she sat quickly. Dwalin moved to kneel by her side. "This is good news."

"It is. The best." Dis whispered, her hands clutching that of one of her oldest friends. She was shaking.

Dwalin growled. "I have told Dain that I will be retiring."

The gaze of the princess looked up piercingly, hope shining there. He was going to be with her sons, and her grandchild. Jealousy roared to life within her and she nearly choked. Her previous anger with the she-elf vanishing with the news of burgeoning life.

"Work on Dain. Perhaps you can retire as well." Dwalin continued. "I have tried."

A knock on the door had them both looking up. Queen Rilna peeked inside, escorted by Balin. The royal dwarrowdam's eyes widened as she saw a teary-eyed Dis and a kneeling Dwalin. Their heads close together and he holding onto her hands. Rilna's mouth fell open in surprise.

The guards peeked into the room and then quickly looked away again.

Dis smiled and whispered to Dwalin. "Rumor will have us married by the spring."

Dwalin closed his eyes. He knew how to slay goblins, orcs, wargs, trolls, spiders and all kinds of nasty beasties. Rumors on the other hand? He whispered something back rather darkly and in Khuzdul.

Dis laughed brightly, only lending further credence to their charade.

Queen Rilna looked delighted. Balin rather looked suspicious.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Before anyone asks. I have no intention (as of this moment) of pairing off either Dis nor Dwalin either separately or together. The plot bunnies are suspiciously silent on the matter. It's just a ploy to get around Dain.


	32. Yule Celebration

Tauriel boldly met the dwarrow's gaze, blinking when he grinned at her and nodded in approval. She looked away, taking in the festively decorated and crowded town hall. The usually spare and plain room had been festooned with garlands and streamers along with colorful banners hanging from the walls.

Hints of spices and delicious food filled the area from where the serving tables had been set up. And everywhere she looked, she was getting approving nods and shy smiles.

"Kili?"

Her dark-haired dwarven husband looked up at her, a smear of something frothy caught on his upper lip as he chewed something from his rather full plate. "Hmmm?"

"Everyone is staring at me." The red-head tugged at one of her loose sleeves with uncommon self-consciousness.

It took him a moment to swallow before he flashed her a cheeky grin. "You're worth a stare or two. You're gorgeous."

Tauriel rolled her green eyes before she really looked at her husband, only to realize he was completely serious. A half-tilt of her lips turned upwards. "I am not, not by the standards of either race."

"Then you haven't been paying attention, she-elf." Kili teased her mockingly, even as his eyes caressed her face. "You are more vibrant and more beautiful than any sunset, any flower, or anything I have ever seen. And as we dwarves are known for crafting the most beautiful items in Middle Earth, that's saying something."

A becoming blush spread up from where her dress left off and the creamy skin of her bosom swelled above the shimmery fabric. Even after several months of being married, she still wasn't used to compliments.

"Ye look lovely this night."

Taken aback, Tauriel turned, recognizing one of the older dwarrow who lived in the town. Purveyor of ales and wines and a shrewd merchant from what she'd heard Bofur say. She nodded her head gracefully.

The gray-haired older dwarf with multiple braids in his beard with fine golden clasps handed her a small plate with delicacies. "Thought you might enjoy."

The red-head murmured her thankfulness, even as she eyed the plate full of sweets. The local dwarrow had been much more accepting of her since her wedding to Kili. Some even smiled at her in town, mostly the dwarrowdams. But approaching her and starting conversations? This was rather new. And very forthcoming behavior for what she knew of dwarves.

Kili grinned and swallowed his mouthful of food. "Savory." He said, then covered his mouth with his hand as a small sound escaped him.

Tauriel watched the significant look pass between her husband and the older dwarf, who nodded in his direction before moving off. "What did you do?" She asked with sudden suspicion.

Kili shrugged, deliberately not answering. "Burped. Excuse me."

"That's not what I meant." The red-head sighed. Her husband's poor digestive system was basically completely healed. His manners weren't. Though some foods could still upset his system if he didn't watch himself. Which he didn't. "Those rolls have cabbage in them."

Cabbage. A food that still upset Kili's stomach if he ate too much of it. He eyed the roll carefully, then sniffed it. He made a face that culled a small laugh from his wife.

"Something for you?"

Tauriel turned, surprised. Two younger male dwarrow were holding out plates. One with a cheesy rice dish in a generous scoop, the other with a crusty bread slathered with a flavored cheese. "I …." Her voice trailed off as she found herself confused and unsure what to say.

"Thank you!" Kili beamed, nodding at her as if indicating she needed to accept the food being presented.

The red-head didn't know what to do. Two plates, and she was still holding the offering of sweets the first dwarf had brought to her. Kili took the first plate from her, so she could accept the two new ones.

Both young dwarrow, whom she knew from training with them on archery, seemed pleased with themselves. She and Kili had been working with the town guard with Fili, their focus being on archery and close combat training. After the first week, the number of humans and dwarves coming in for instruction had trebled. Something she knew pleased young Fili no end.

Still. This kind of warm welcome and shy smiles was …out of the ordinary.

"We will miss your archery instructions." The brown haired young dwarrow said with a small frown.

"Why?" Tauriel looked between the two plates. The cheese on the bread smelled wonderfully of herbs. "You have a conflict in time?"

Surprised, both dwarrow shot an unreadable look at first she and then her husband. But were saved from answering as a group of humans walked up to them all.

Mirrenda approached, the human council woman smiling in her embroidered burgundy dress and lace collar. "Coppernose, Tauriel." She bowed to each in turn, then glanced at the rather full plates the she-elf was still holding. "Hungry my dear?"

The red-head's lips thinned slightly and she shrugged.

"I love your dress. Did Matron Winna craft that?" The graying human woman said with an approving nod.

"Yes, she is quite gifted." Tauriel said of the human tailor living in Brookshire. Unable to stop herself from looking down at the flowing lines of the new gown Kili had ordered for her. She'd not taken much notice when the seamstress had come over a month ago and they'd discussed new clothing. Including a few dresses that Tauriel hadn't thought to be necessary. Her husband had disagreed.

"You're the wife of one of Durin's heirs. A jewel to be seen and admired." He'd said back then, ignoring her efforts to choose a plainer style and fabric. Though none of that was said aloud, here at the Yule celebration.

Tauriel had argued that he was an heir in exile, hidden. Not to be seen nor admired. Looking down at the shimmering folds of teal silk that glistened like a crystal waterfall, it was obvious who had won that argument. "I just wanted a green dress." She mourned, though the way the fabric draped over her body had been quite flattering when she'd seen it in the mirror at home.

"It is green." Kili grinned at her, cheekily winking at her as she sighed. "You just like plainer greens and browns as they camouflage you in the woodlands. But we're not in the Mirkwood anymore."

Mirrenda laughed. "Teal silk that shimmers like that is more than merely green. Males!"

The she-elf paused, something catching her attention. What? Perhaps it was the mention of her former home. Something she should mourn? The Mirkwood had been her home for centuries. She had friends there. Yet the mention of the word did not bring pangs of loss or longing, or very little. Perhaps her difficulty was not for leaving, but that she didn't have any regrets at all.

So. What was bothering her? The she-elf looked around, and saw many an admiring glance in her direction. Maybe that was it. She was used to being in the background, on duty at parties. Not a guest in a fine gown with long bell-shaped sleeves.

Tauriel glanced at her lengthy sleeves and bit back a sigh. She'd argued against the style, saying that they'd get in the way during a fight. All three dwarrow she lived with had laughed at her. Still, Fili had actually proven helpful in designing special blade sheaths to be worn beneath her party gown. All while Kili and Bofur had stood back and teased the both of them for their caution.

There were a few more minutes of social chatting, with Mirrenda introducing some out of town guests who'd become stuck in Brookshire when the snows had come earlier and harder than expected. Merchants from other trading towns.

Bofur came up beside her, becoming involved in discussing trading routes and what goods would be the best to have ready come spring. Relieved of being socially nice, Tauriel looked down at her two plates and handed the one with the rice to the hatted dwarf and actually started to eat the one with the bread and herbal cheese.

"Coppernose? Didn't we already speak with someone of the same name?" One of the out of town merchants scratched his clean-shaven chin.

"My brother." Kili bowed slightly. "Coppernose the Elder and Younger, at your service."

"Ah!" The human nodded, showing no further curiosity on the names. Not mentioning that they were surnames. Then again, with humans you couldn't tell if they even realized that the names weren't overly familiar. As little as elves seemed to understand dwarves, humans only seemed even more in the dark. Dwarves were a most reticent race.

Tauriel chewed the last piece of her delicious bread and cheese, listening and making a few comments here or there. It still surprised her when Fili and Kili were called by the name Coppernose. Though that was the only title they went by when in town. Safer that way.

"May I take your plate?"

The red-head turned, her eyebrows going up as she looked down at a smiling Dern and his wife. Her green eyes turned questioning as she saw that the dwarrow had a plate with some savory rolls and nuts. "Is everyone trying to fatten me up?" She asked when Dern took her plate, and put the full one in her hand.

Nurbera laughed and peeked up at the she-elf's intricate hair style. Most of it hung freely down her back, but the sides held small braids that Kili had worked on for a while, and were decorated with small crafted flowers, enameled and delicate. The flowers were white and dotted with small green gemstones, with tiny chains dangling down with miniature beads on the ends. A very feminine piece.

"Did you let your husband do that to you?" Nurbera guessed. "Did he even tell you the meaning?"

Tauriel drew up sharply, sending a suspicious look toward her husband. Kili wouldn't meet her eyes all of a sudden, but he was grinning. "The hair piece has meaning?" She asked, an edge to her voice.

"No." Nurbera grinned widely. "But the braids do. Still, the flower hair piece is lovely. Did you make that Coppernose?" She looked at Kili in question.

Bofur preened and stuck out his chest. "That'n be my work, actually."

While the hatted dwarf and the dwarrowdam discussed the differences in toymaking and jewelry crafting, Tauriel glared at her husband. "What did you do?" She asked, though she thought she might know. All the approving looks had been dwarven. All the plates brought to her had been delivered by dwarrow.

Kili shrugged, finally looking at his wife. "Letting everyone know that you carry new life. In case anything should happen. You would be protected."

The she-elf sighed. "There will not be a fight here." She protested.

"And how many blades are you carrying?" Kili responded pointedly, his eyes mirthful as he widened his eyes innocently.

Tauriel sighed, knowing a lost cause when she saw one. Especially when he was right. She was never unarmed.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"The king sends his regrets." Balin said with a cool expression that gave away nothing of his feelings. "He is in an important meeting."

Dwalin's lips thinned. His brother wasn't the confidant of King Dain like he had been with Thorin. It did not help that the two dwarrow were on opposite ends of the argument about retaking Khazad-dum. So. 'Important' meetings did not include Balin at the moment. He knew his brother well enough to know Balin would not complain though.

Queen Rilna looked around the gathered group with more animation than she'd shown in the last few weeks. Her soft beard sported some fine jewels, but nothing overblown. "Come. Without the king present, perhaps we should be more relaxed at dinner."

Dwalin didn't answer, simply looked at the queen. She smiled. "Come, sit next to the Lady Dis and catch us up on your travels."

Queen Rilna's lady-in-waiting paused. That was usually her seat. Coryan was a distant relation to the new Queen Under the Mountain. Cousin of a cousin, through marriage and not blood really. But they two were quite fond, despite their age difference.

"It will be a loss to not have Coryan's delightful company, but I shall make do." Dis said so smoothly that no one who didn't know her well could read her utter sarcasm.

Dwalin knew her well.

His head didn't move, but his eyes slid to the young lady in question. More than pretty, quite beautiful really. Why would Dis have an objection to …oh. He grunted softly as his mind made the connections. Fili's former betrothed.

Dis moved up to take his arm, and the tattooed warrior let her. Resigned to this charade she'd started. One that seemed to be pleasing the queen at least. "I thought you liked her."

"I did. I do. She should be my daughter." The dwarrowdam said with a hint of bitterness.

Ah. Dwalin's hand moved to cover hers. To those watching it appeared a romantic, tender gesture. Between the two of them, they knew it was merely comfort.

"Fili was right though. Her laugh is rather snorty." Dis continued, more than a little snide.

Dwalin chuckled, uncaring that it looked like he and Dis were sharing something more intimate.

Balin watched the two of them with narrowed eyes, but no expression exposed on his face for others to read. Dwalin knew his sibling would know all was not what it seemed.

"Something funny?" Queen Rilna asked pleasantly, encouraging them both with a genteel smile.

Dis tilted her head flirtatiously. "Oh dear. Dwalin was telling me about a funny dwarrow he met while wandering the countryside. Trying to play farmer. But when this brave warrior," she patted her companion's arm. "Was telling me, he clearly didn't know the difference between a steer and a bull."

Dwalin stiffened as Dis mentioned his code for telling her of Kili's and Fili's lives right now. What was she up to?

Rilna blinked uncertainly. "What is the difference? Is there a difference?"

Dis chuckled. "Those of us who've had to live above ground for a while, out among humans, learned quite a bit of information. Such as a steer is actually a castrated bull."

Dwalin closed his eyes and shook his head, remembering how he'd described Fili and Kili as steers. To their mother. "I didn't know." He muttered.

"That's what made it funny. Though if the male in question made the cow pregnant, then I knew it wasn't really a steer." Dis teased. "But a bull instead."

The mention of pregnancy though was a wrong step. Queen Rilna's hand moved to her belly as she paled slightly. Coryan moved immediately to her kinwoman's side.

Dis winced. Honestly she'd not been trying to make Dain's wife feel bad. "This is good news you bring among us, your majesty. I did not mean my words to sorrow you."

Rilna went even paler, swaying a bit.

Dis stared as Balin rushed forward to support the queen. "I …."

"No." Rilna waved a hand in front of her, a general indication not to make a fuss. "But you have no need to call me thus. If things had gone differently, that would be my address to you."

The queen objected to being called majesty? Dis chewed on that information a bit, dropping her gaze, but not agreeing. "Your husband mentioned you had some concerns." She said carefully. They weren't in private.

Rilna's laugh was a bit brittle sounding.

"He did indeed ask me to reassure you. And I would not if I felt it were a lie. I can honestly tell you, I am aware of how each of my family members passed from Erebor." Dis chose her words very, very carefully. "Dain drew not an ounce of their blood."

The queen stopped laughing at least, though her smile was a ghost of herself. "I know what my husband thinks. He misses the point."

Dis raised her eyebrows, while neither Dwalin nor Balin interrupted. Coryan simply wrung her hands, watching carefully. The guards made no move or sound, in fact they could have been holding their breaths.

"I know Dain didn't physically kill any dwarrow." Rilna skirted around naming the dead as she saw them. "But you were here. You saw his eyes."

Dis didn't trust herself to speak yet. Yes. She'd seen Dain's eyes. She'd seen the growing dragon-sickness and had despaired. It, along with certain portents and advice, had led her to make one of the most important decisions in her life. To hide her sons away.

"He would have done anything for the throne." Rilna whispered, unthinking of who could overhear.

Dwalin and Balin shared a look. The queen had never been a very political creature, though a fine dwarrowdam. Still, her tongue was carrying her onto dangerous grounds.

Balin cleared his throat. "Dain did nothing wrong." He tried to lessen the damage her words could cause if they made it through Erebor or beyond.

The queen turned her pale eyes on the white-haired dwarf, and Balin felt the urge to shiver. "He would have."

"But he didn't." This from Coryan of all people. The young blond looked utterly distressed, and the queen caught her hand in her own. Dwalin was reminded that Thorin had actually been the one to put forward the dwarrowdam's name for consideration as a spouse for his heir. Thorin had found her to be smart, and politically astute as well as pretty.

"A dragon. A kingdom. A wizard. Mordor. Magic. Fate." Rilna's eyes were growing wider and wider. "It changed him."

Dis didn't have any words of comfort, not that she could have spoken around the lump in her throat. It hadn't only been Dain caught up in the dragon-sickness. It had been Thorin by all accounts too.

"He came back from it." Coryan's voice sounded so small as she tried to offer comfort to her queen.

"He was not yet in control." Rilna's hand fluttered over her belly.

Dis drew in a sharp intake of breath. Ruthlessly she pulled out a handkerchief and dunked it in Balin's water as she passed that worthy on her way to the queen. Pressing the cold cloth to the dwarrowdam's cheeks, she reigned in her temper.

"Dain is the child's father. Your Dain. His being in the thrall of treasure won't affect your baby." She hoped, with very real sincerity in every mote of her being. Her own loss and anger pushed away by the queen's terror.

"We have wanted a child for so long." Rilna stared directly into Dis' eyes. "Only to be blessed now?" She was worrying herself into a frazzled state, having her babe conceived while her husband had been in the throes of the dragon-sickness.

"Children pay no heed to schedules." Dis deliberately tried to lighten her voice and mood, smiling. Her smile faded as the queen gripped her hand tightly.

"I would wish your children here if I could."

Dis stared at the dwarrowdam, having always liked her rather distantly when Dain had first introduced his new bride so many years ago. They'd never been close, however. But she didn't doubt these words. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, though they didn't fall. She nodded mutely.

"I would name my child for Fili if I dared." Rilna whispered. "But, what if the child …isn't right? I would not do that to you."

Dis started. Names were important to dwarves. Even every day names, though not as valued as True Names. Still. It wasn't really the thing to name children for still living family members. But how to turn the queen without revealing why she didn't want her son's name taken by new life?

Balin rescued her. "That would be lovely. Though Fili would laugh himself silly at the honor. All things considered, I think our former leader would be a more appropriate choice. And Fili himself would agree. As for the other thing, I shouldn't worry so." The white-haired dwarrow made a mental note to check with Oin on the matter.

Rilna frowned thoughtfully. "Thorin?"

"Nothing would please my sons more than to see their uncle honored. They never sought titles for themselves, but served him with their whole beings." Dis' smile turned upwards.

As for the other matter. How the child would be affected by the father's illness would be a subject for minds greater than theirs.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Touch me."

"We're in public." Teldu objected, laughing a bit.

Fili leaned in closer, talking into her ear so as to have his breath tickle her. "I just meant to hold my hand. What were YOU thinking about?" His voice dripped with innuendo.

"You did not mean that. I think I know you a little better than to think you are so innocent." Teldu crossed her spooky blue eyes at him and the blond laughed, nodding in resignation. "You deliberately led me into that verbal trap."

"Caught."

"Me or you?" She teased.

"Both." He conceded with a nod. "You more than me, of course."

"Bastard." Teldu laughed for a moment, then let the sound fade away as she stared into his bright blue eyes. "Are you?"

"A bastard?" Fili pretended to think it over. "By nature or birth?"

She poked him hard in the side.

"Neither." He announced, capturing her hand in his. "Neither."

"Who are you?" Teldu asked, her earlier fun sliding away like the tide. "Really?"

"Not here." Fili shook his head slightly.

"No. Not THE answer. But tell me who you are. What do you want out of life? What do you like? Hate? Want?" She blinked slowly. "I know nothing of you."

Fili wasn't so sure of her assessment. She'd already accused him of being so arrogant she'd called him a king. And that was without knowing his history! This dwarrowdam was scarily perceptive already.

"I was …." What could he share? "Born of parents properly married."

Teldu snorted and nodded imperiously.

Fili bit back a groan, having known it wouldn't be that easy. "I have a younger brother."

Teldu started to walk away from him, and he caught her hand easily. "I can work in blacksmithing, but never formally apprenticed."

"Who taught you?" She asked archly.

"My uncle."

"Hamnar's brother." Teldu said, arching both eyebrows. They both knew his stated parentage was a hoax. Or she thought she knew.

Fili grimaced. "Not here. Not now."

Teldu nodded, letting him off the hook for now. "You miss your uncle?"

"Every day."

The dwarrowdam stilled, hearing the pain in Fili's answer. "I'm sorry. I didn't know he Waited." Using the dwarven euphemism for the dead. "Did he pass before you could apprentice?"

This was going to be difficult. Fili grimaced. He was going to have to share with her who he was, sooner or later. That is if he wanted to keep her by his side. His fingers tightened on her hand.

"No."

Teldu waited, but there was no further explanation from the blond holding onto her hand. She tugged on her arm to free herself. It didn't work. "At least you didn't lie." She muttered sourly.

"My uncle died in battle. I was unable to prevent his death." Fili frowned. "Actually, he survived the battle itself but was too wounded."

Teldu stared at him, her pale blue eyes looking at his gaze as if trying to decipher him. "You were wounded badly too."

"If that's a guess, it's scarily good." Fili brought his free hand up to rub along the back of his neck in a sheepish mannerism.

"You wouldn't have let anyone you loved be so badly hurt if you weren't injured as well." Teldu's voice gentled and she stopped trying to pull away.

"See? You do know me." The blond said, his dimples clearly evident as he smirked at her.

Teldu eyed him, all of a sudden realizing that when he was very, very good at deflecting praise. "Good was never good enough."

Fili blinked at her.

"For someone who raised you. Your uncle perhaps? You're not good with compliments."

"I'm an arrogant ass." He protested. "I love compliments."

Teldu squeezed his hand this time. "Yes, you're arrogant. And even an ass, I'll not disagree." She chuckled at the funny face he pulled for her right then. "But I'm right. Good was never good enough."

Fili's mirth ebbed away and he blinked. "You're scary."

She waited him out.

Fili groaned. "My uncle had very high standards. But don't go feeling sorry for me. He trained me well and I never doubted his pride for me."

"Or his love for you."

Blue eyes blinked and Fili shook his head. "How did you come up with that?"

"It's in your voice when you talk about him."

"He wasn't perfect." The blond objected. "I know that more than most. And he could be damned hard on me."

Teldu's eyes narrowed. "Not on your brother?"

Fili groaned. "You need to be a special interrogator. Nothing escapes your clutches."

"I'm sorry." The dwarrowdam said softly. "I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark and have no idea what I say to you that might be hurtful."

"Dark, my ass." Fili muttered. "Look. My uncle was tougher on me, yes. But there was good cause." To train him to rule a dwarven kingdom. The words nearly burned in his chest, wanting to come out.

Teldu watched him, seeing the expression in his eyes. "Tell me something nicer. What was your uncle's favorite things?"

"Erebor." The word slipped out without thought. Fili grimaced, but tried to allay whatever damage he might have caused himself. "He was a true believer in getting back what was ours. I mean …ours as in dwarven."

She nodded at him encouragingly.

"He loved venison, hated mutton unless it had mint." Fili spoke quickly. "Loved his pipe. And a good fiddle. Taught both my brother and I to play."

"Sword, axe or mace?" Teldu asked curiously.

Fili paused, his eyes narrowing on the female beside him. "Why?"

"Sword means he cuts to the heart of the matter. Axe means he prefers to be showy and permanent. A mace is more of a blunt weapon. Smashing everything. A sword means he leads. An axe means he fights before speaks, and a mace is having to get his way in all things all the time."

Fili blinked, then grinned. "Uncle was all of those things."

"Preferred weapon?"

"Sword." Fili admitted. "But he could use them all." He glanced over at a small crowd. "What about an arrow?"

"Prefers to stay out of arguments, but will put an end to them if necessary." Teldu said.

"Not sure I agree with all of that." Fili admitted. "Daggers?"

Teldu slid her gaze over to the blond, watching his smug expression. "Arrogance. Thinks he's invincible and doesn't worry about close in fighting because he believes in himself too much. Self-obsessed."

Fili drew back, looking stunned.

"Or it could simply mean he never wants to be unarmed because he's always prepared." Teldu continued with a wink.

Fili groaned, dropping his head back as he realized that she'd gotten him. "Arrogance?" He teased.

"King Fili." She teased back, then started as his hand squeezed hers almost painfully. "Sorry."

The blond released her hand with a look of apology. "No, it's I who am sorry. How about we …."

What he'd been about to say was lost in the unexpected sound of a horn from the town walls.

Fili tensed up. Arrivals? After dark and in deep winter snow? He muttered something to Teldu and stalked off toward his brother. Mirrenda seemed to have the same idea as their hostess moved to intercept the duo.

More horn blasts had Fili's eyebrows rising. "Elves? And humans?"

Tauriel had her blank face on, the one that gave away no thought or feeling. Fili hadn't even realized that she'd not been that way around them until this moment when it was such as shock to see her look so expressionless. "Sister?"

The one word pierced her calm demeanor and her green eyes moved to him, before relaxing a moment. "No other horns."

Meaning no alarm and no other …. It was too soon. More horn blasts, this one a call to arms.

Mirrenda's human visitors looked confused as the town councilwoman explained Fili's innovative use of horns to let everyone know who was coming and going from their town. The males all nodded thoughtfully, sending the blond dwarrow approving looks.

"My bow's at home." Kili ground his teeth together. "But there are weapons stored near the town walls."

Tauriel's blade flashed incongruously in the gaily lit party.

Mirrenda stared, wondering where the she-elf had sheathed such a long weapon beneath her silken gown. She'd not looked armed.

Kili and Fili both frowned intently at Tauriel. "Home."

Green eyes narrowed angrily on her husband, but Kili stepped forward. "I know your worth in a fight. I know your abilities. I also know that you are carrying my child. I need to know you are safe."

Instinct warred with logic. Tauriel's mind whirled, but she knew that none of the dwarrow would be arlight with a pregnant female fighting alongside them unless without choice. Truthfully, no elf would feel differently. But home? She balked. "The arriving elves won't be your danger. You may need me to translate. I can also shoot from the town walls."

"I speak Sindarin." Kili protested. "You taught me."

"The basics!" Tauriel protested.

Kili growled, but Fili put his hand on his brother's shoulder. He knew enough to offer a compromise. "Thank you. We will bring the elves here if need be."

"Here?" Kili and Tauriel both asked with varying degrees of anger and frustration.

"Here." Fili nodded toward the red-head. "This is the town's Yule celebration. Most everyone is here. Better to keep them in a defensible place and let Tauriel led those we leave here."

Kili's eyes were round with distress and the need to protect. Fili gripped his brother's shoulder hard. "It's the best you'll be able to get. Come."

The dark-haired young husband glanced between his wife and his brother. He grabbed Tauriel's hand, frowning at how cold she felt.

"Don't." The red-head whispered.

"If you were back in the Mirkwood and one of your elves was in your condition …." It was a question.

Tauriel paled, giving Kili his answer. He pulled her down to him, but she resisted. He smiled grimly at her. The town walls are fortified. We've been training the guards. You have been one of the main trainers. We can handle this."

The she-elf watched sadly as her husband raced off with his brother, more dwarrow and even the human guardsmen. Bofur pointed at her and then took off after the others, sending her an ultra-serious look. It would be horrible of her to follow, for that would suggest she didn't trust Kili. And she did. But her heart was beating so fast!

Another horn blast. The town gates were closed and sealed. She relaxed fractionally.

Never before had she felt such fear.

Several things became very clear to her right then, standing in among the frightened townspeople in their party regalia.

She hadn't mourned with the mention of Mirkwood, because it was no longer her home. He was. Not a place, but a person. A dwarf.

Her hand moved to her belly, covering her child. Their child.

She knew without anyone having to say anything. Kili and Fili would die before they let harm come her way. Bofur too.

Home wasn't a place. It was where you were loved.

Her hand tightened on her blade hilt. Unfortunately, she'd have much more preferred to be out there with them than stuck in here!

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Deven was waiting for them as they approached the crowded area before the front gates. Without word he handed Kili a spare bow and blade, with another sword for Fili.

The lad was shaping up well.

Fili glanced at the area, his eyes expertly weighing the weapons and horseflesh he could see. The weapons weren't richly appointed, but well used. The horses were packed for lengthy travel, but not overburdened. Not merchants then.

He saw the easy way the elves and humans with them spoke and settled their mounts. This was no chance encounter between two racial groups. His eyes narrowed.

Deven flushed. "We don't have a horn signal for Rangers." He said, ducking his head, not wanting to appear like he was criticizing Fili for not having foreseen that possibility.

The blond dwarrow grimaced. It had been a poor oversight on his part. "Understood."

Kili relaxed slightly. Rangers weren't enemies, not likely anyway. But he never lost his battle wariness. "Out of the way for Rangers."

One sandy-haired human approached, bowing to them. If he was surprised to see both dwarrow and human guards, he did not show it beyond a slightly puzzled look. "We skirmished with orcish raiders, have some wounded. Would have led them astray, but the snow is beyond deep."

Fili straightened. "How far out?" Where the orcs heading this way?

The ranger nodded. "A half-hour by best reckoning. There is still night aplenty." Meaning the orcs could easily try and attack the town. "Perhaps thirty to thirty three."

Kili frowned.

"There were over sixty when we encountered them." The human couldn't help but add.

Kili nodded and flashed a hand sign to Deven. The young human guardsmen didn't even hesitate, but snapped into focused activity. Within minutes torches were being lit all around the town walls and everyone was moving into alert positions.

An elf who had been watching, frowned with thought as he looked on. "Mani nae lle umien?"

"Getting ready." Kili answered absently, his eyes scanning the group. "How bad are your wounded? Do you need litters?"

The elf, his long hair dark and shining, looked utterly surprised. "Lle quena I'lambe tel' Eldalie?"

"Some." Admitted Kili, who glanced at his brother. "He asks what we are doing and if we speak Elvish."

"He does. I do not." Fili responded.

"Understood." The tall elf bowed, his robes elegant from his movements rather than any richness of material.

"We have two badly injured members." The human male spoke up quietly, but not without urgency. "One will need a litter." His voice told them that if not, the man would need a casket instead.

Fili called out and his orders were quickly translated into the needed items and muscle. He told the men to carry the most wounded man directly to Coppernose's wife.

The tall elf frowned as another elf approached them, this one was just as tall as the other. "A dwarven healer?"

"She speaks your language." Kili said mildly. "And has many skills, although not trained as a healer beyond simple battle injuries. However, we have a human physician and a dwarven medic as well. Unless you have a healer with you?"

The human ranger and the elf shared a look. They may not like it, but had little choice in the matter. "I can heal, but most of my supplies were lost when my horse died from under me." The elf admitted. "My name is Arrenis. This is Erestor." He indicated the second, silent, elf. "And this is Riccard." He nodded toward the human ranger.

Fili took a long look at the tall elf, and saw the way he was holding his arm. "You are injured as well."

"He makes light of it, but the horse died on top of him, not under him." The human ranger said without mirth. "He was protecting others."

A horn sounded, interrupting them. Fili's eyes narrowed and he gripped his sword. "That was not a half-hour."

The elf introduced as Erestor frowned, looking at the solid walls of the town. Most of the wooden poles had been replaced with strong rock. But the walls weren't completely done yet. Would the orcs attack the main gate, or be smart enough to circle and look for weaknesses.

Bad thing, to be dependent upon the stupidity of your enemy.

Fili and Kili looked at each other. The blond grinned and jerked his head toward the top of the wall.

Riccard, the human ranger, watched the brunet sprint off up the stairs and ladders near the gate. "You have a plan?"

"Taunt them." Fili grimaced. "Make them attack our strongest area."

The elven rangers looked intrigued, even as Arrenis reached for his sword rather than his bow. You needed two good hands to shoot.

Erestor pulled out his bow. He had two good hands. And some choice words for a pair of elvish twins who'd sent him off with rangers to scout out the countryside in winter.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	33. Wounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update so soon? I didn't expect it either. Going to see BoFA tomorrow (today). This will either put me into a state of catatonic denial or send me spinning into a frenzy of writing/reading fix-it and canon-divergent stories. We'll see.

Tauriel turned in a circle, her green eyes lit as if from some inner fire. The room was filled with anxious party guests. But not the fighters, not the able bodied ready to defend Brookshire.

So why was she here?

Her hands wrung the fine teal silk of her gown where it glistened beneath the candle light. Right over her barely rounded belly and the babe nestled within.

Kili was right. If she were still captain of the guard, and she had a pregnant company member she would have told them to stay back. Ordered them. And she'd have expected obedience, even from one of the arrogant High Elves.

Because it was the right decision.

Yet her muscles ached to move. Her toes and feet tingled with the need to run forward. Staying behind was the hardest thing she'd ever faced in her life.

"Tauriel?"

The she-elf turned, her eyes taking a moment to recognize Nurbera and her two daughters. Of course. Dern would be at the wall, his axe at the ready.

A soft gasp escaped her and it was all she could do not to run out of that building and toward whatever had caused the alarm horns to be sounded.

"Both lads will be fine." Nurbera said soothingly. "Cleadeth, get me some cool juice."

Teldu shook her head, watching the way Tauriel's eyes flicked back and forth between each of the exits and the windows. This young dwarrowdam was pretty sure that worry over the Coppernose brothers was only part of the she-elf's problem. "If you weren't expecting, you'd be out there." It wasn't a question.

The words were accompanied by an annoying buzz that Tauriel was pretty sure was only in her own mind. Things were too bright, too fast, and too slow all at the exact same moment. Her fingers clenched. Then a rushed knock on the door had everyone spinning in that direction.

A young runner, too young to fight, rushed in. The messenger was huffing from exertion, but bright eyed with admiration. "Rangers! We have Rangers in town! Orcs behind them, but the gates are closed."

Gasps and shocked murmurs filled the entire room. Nurbera's hand went out blindly, only to be caught by her youngest daughter.

Teldu paled alarmingly, drawing Tauriel's immediate concern. The young apprentice baker had never seemed the sort to give in to fear. Pale blue eyes sought out the she-elf, her breath hitching. "Uncle Dorn."

The whispered name had Tauriel nodding in commiseration. She'd lost parents and a younger sibling to orcish raiders. She knew. Elves and Dwarves viewed the passing of years differently, as well as the realities of mortality which merely bypassed the elder race. But in this, they shared grief. Unspoken.

"They have injured, being carried here." The young messenger finally finished despite the shouted questions all being asked at the same time.

Mirrenda wasn't a town leader for nothing. Her eyes sought out the human physician. "Do you have supplies?"

The elderly human grimaced. "Only what I keep stocked here for the town. Simple first aid. The rest is at my cabin."

Mirrenda frowned sharply. The cabin in question was within the town walls, barely. Still, the trip wouldn't take long if the streets weren't already knee deep in snow. "Take who you need to get what you can."

"Pardon?" A bearded dwarrow with a walking stick and a discernable limp interrupted. His beard was ginger and blond-gold. "My house is closer, and I am the healer for our people. I'll have supplies laid in as well. Easier to reach."

If Mirrenda was surprised by the offer, she managed not to show it. Dwarves and Humans had been getting along for years, but with little communication or cooperation between them. Then with the arrival of the Coppernose brothers, things had improved. The town guard was a mixed company of both races. Still. This level of cooperation was new. "Thank you." She bowed her head.

Arrangements were made for a small group to go with the dwarven healer.

"I'll stay here and begin triage and treatment as necessary until you return." The human physician said with quiet dignity even as he directed the retrieval of the basic first aid supplies already in the building.

The dwarven healer nodded in acknowledgement and took along a small, mixed group to get what was necessary.

Next through the door was four of the youngest and newest guard members, bearing a litter with an entirely too still form upon it.

Tauriel could see the bare movement of the blood sodden cloth shirt. "He breathes."

"Barely." Said the physician, directing the Ranger be placed down most carefully and starting his assessment with a grim look.

The she-elf wasn't a healer, but she knew many of the basics that had been taught to her in her capacity within Thranduil's guard. She called for clean, fresh water. Some boiled and some cool. Clean cloths and bandages. Basic pain-killing herbs that might be on hand.

Nurbera and her daughters leaped into action, moving swiftly. Tauriel approached the wounded male and knelt, unmindful of her beautiful new dress and cursing the long sleeves as she pushed them back.

The human physician glanced at her, his eyes tight with worry. The ranger was sore wounded.

Tauriel listened, but heard no signs of lung compromise, nor no scent of perforated bowels or guts. "Blood loss." She opined.

The physician nodded. "They stopped the outer bleeding."

"But not the inner." Tauriel nodded, knowing the Rangers had to have been trying to move swiftly. This was beyond her meager skills to attend. Feeling helpless, she scowled.

Another guard came to the door. A second wounded Ranger leaning heavily on the tall townsman, possibly even passed out.

The human physician looked up, eyes measuring. He glanced at Tauriel. "You can do the basics? I can't leave this one."

The red-head nodded and rose to meet the newly arrived guard and his burden. She checked him quickly, calling out the injuries as she worked. "Head wound bleeding profusely, but skull unbroken. Possibly cracked but without leaks. The eyes react to light. Probably an arrow strike." She mused aloud, knowing a blade, hammer, or axe would have shattered bone. This looked like a glancing blow of some kind. "Bruising indicates blunt trauma to the torso. Ribs may be broken. Gash to the thigh is deep and needs closing."

The physician nodded at her. "Can you handle him until the dwarven healer returns?"

Tauriel looked up, finding Mirrenda directing a pallet be made on the floor. Right in the middle of the party dance floor. Blankets were already being spread out for her. She nodded to the guard, who carried-dragged the wounded to the space indicated.

"It would be monstrous to drag him to another location, out in that snow until he's been treated." Mirrenda explained, though no one had asked. "You!" She pointed at two human males, her guests from out of town. "You know the way to my house? If we can't bring these men to beds, bring the beds to us."

Several of the dwarrow family members who weren't trained in fighting moved to assist.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Erestor fairly flew up the rough steps to the top of the wall, happy to be standing on stone. He was no coward, but he was also no fool. He'd take whatever advantage he could in order to defeat the orcish raiders.

He moved up next to the strange duo of dwarves who seemed to lead an entire town's compliment of fighters. Both human and dwarrow. He glanced at their profiles as they scanned the area below.

Erestor's mouth tightened grimly as he looked out over the collection of orcs who were gathering on the edges of the light thrown off by the town's torches. Sounds of gnashing teeth, black speech, and the clanking of weapons reached them all.

The tall elf felt the arrival of Arrenis and Riccard as they moved up, the other Rangers spreading out along the wall.

Riccard seemed to be searching the area below them. "Their leader has a spike of some sort coming up from behind his head, a decomposing skull skewered there. Our archers can pick him off …." The man stilled, his eyes rounding as an orc such as the one he'd just described simply died, not even having time to clutch at the arrow piercing his eye and the brain behind it.

Erestor's fingers twitched. That projectile hadn't come from his bow, fine as it might be.

He turned and saw the dark-haired dwarf lower his bow, flashing an impertinent grin.

"Good shot." Came the response from the blond dwarf.

Erestor turned and glanced at Arrenis, who shrugged. Dwarven archers? Since when? The last they'd known of the dwarrow they had been barely competent with bows, relying on towering gates and multitudes of archers to strike anything. As if numbers accounted for more than precision. "It was a good shot." The elf allowed, his voice cautious.

"Who's going to take over command?" The blond dwarf scanned the area again with his eyes? "There will be a second. After that, they'll squabble among themselves to take over leadership."

Arrenis' eyebrows shot up as he met Erestor's interested gaze over the top of the dwarve's heads. "Your information is good."

Riccard grinned, pointing. "We may have already slain their second back at the ambush site. They're fighting for leadership now."

Indeed, the orcs were devolving into small factions and groups.

"Younger." The blond said quietly, eying a large orc with a war mace who'd just bashed in the head of two others.

"I see him, Elder." The brunet took aim, and the large orc's heart was pierced through by two arrows. The orc died before his body could even manage to fall to the ground.

Riccard saw the avid interest of the two elves and smiled, shaking his head at the wonder of it. "We have offered our names?"

"This isn't the Yule celebration party." The blond snarked. "We left that when the warnings sounded. But if you must, I am Coppernose the Elder, and he's the Younger."

Kili tilted his head up and down swiftly in acknowledgement, then raised his bow. Before he could shoot, Erestor and downed the orc that had stumbled into arrow range.

Seeing the dark look sent his way, Erestor tilted his head up arrogantly. "I can't leave them all to your expert shooting. It would make me a poor guest."

The dwarf introduced as the Younger, flashed a quick grin before concentrating on the melee below them. "With any luck they'll thin their numbers considerably."

"Spoke too soon." Riccard cursed and sighed. "That fellow came out the winner awful fast. And knows enough to stay out of range of our bows."

Two arrows suddenly sprouted out of the new orcish leader's eye sockets. Unfortunately he had three eyes. Fortunately they were all connected to the same body, which died after but a moment or two more.

Erestor turned and looked down at the dwarven archer, who winked cheekily up at him. "Show off." The dwarrow muttered.

The High Elf sighed, not bothering to point out that the dwarf had been just as guilty as they'd shot at the same time.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dunrid's head was pounding in rhythm to the beat of his heart, which was much faster than he'd have liked. But it was too bright in here, and his internal clock assured him that it was still night. With great effort his eyes slid open slightly.

Color. Bright colors and the sound of music. No. Singing. But the language was Sindarin and the song was of healing. Not one he recognized, but very similar. A few phrases overlapped with the ones he'd been taught among the Rangers.

Listening to the words and parsing them out, it took Dunrid a moment to realize he'd closed his eyes again. Once more he forced himself to look around. But the world seemed to be spinning. Quickly he took stock. Head wound, most likely. He could even remember the bitter cold of the snow when he'd pitched headfirst into a high drift after taking injury. Vaguely he thought he could recall the spread of red blood upon the pristine white winter accumulation.

Cold was good though. Slowed bleeding.

Wait. His eyes blinked open once more. Streamers? Party streamers much like he'd seen in Gondor whilst growing up? Wait. Yule. Okay, human settlement? His mind flew with possibilities. Only one seemed to be plausible. Brookshire. Trading town. Lousy wooden walls, but big enough to shelter them perhaps.

Something cool touched his forehead. Dunrid's senses picked out the aromas of herbs. He relaxed some more. These herbal smells went with the healing songs. Elven song, herbs. Either Erestor or Arrenis ….no. This wasn't a male voice.

Hazel eyes dulled with pain and something medicinal for the pain popped open once again.

Red. But not blood red. This was something shinier, clumped together somehow. His vision swam, then refocused. Oh. Braids. Braids with white flowers growing out of the hair. Concerned green eyes. But they had engaged the enemy nowhere close to an elven settlement of any kind.

Dunrid ogled the elf-maid, wondering if he'd yet seen a red-head among the elves he'd met? Something jostled his leg and pain tore through him, arching his back and gritting his teeth in an effort not to yell. When he managed to look again, he was met with the sight of a very hairy person.

Blinking rapidly, Dunrid groaned. The bearded male leaned over him and said something in an odd accent. He stared at the ginger and blond-gold beard and wondered how he'd ever mistaken the braided mass for a woman's head?

Darkness seemed to surround him, eating at his vision as the ranger stared at the healer working on him. One last thought teased at his befuddled mind. How did a dwarven healer come to know an Elven healing song of power?

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

The night proved bloody. For the orcs. After another battle for leadership, then an abortive attempt at storming Brookshire's gates, they'd limped away into the pre-dawn darkness.

Erestor sent the ten or so human rangers off with Brookshire's leader, a woman called Mirrenda, in order to find rest. She'd invited the two elves along as well.

Seemed they'd already brought in beds and linens for the wounded in the main town hall. Food was already there, and they could ignore the Yule decorations. An impromptu inn of a sorts. The actual inns inside Brookshire were rather full. The heavier than average snows had trapped a few who were hoping for a break in the weather before trying to soldier home.

Travel wasn't at a stand-still in Middle Earth during the winter months, but it certainly made things more difficult. Orcish raiders didn't help the matter either.

A pall hung over the group of humans and elves. The more severely injured male had not survived.

Erestor wasn't the healer that Lord Elrond was, but from what he'd seen there was no fault in the town's physician. There had been more blood in the internal body cavities than there had been left within the veins and arteries. Internal injuries that had led the man to bleed out before he'd gotten to the town. It was an amazement that he'd lived long enough to reach Brookshire at all.

Arrenis moved up silently beside him. Like Erestor he was bothered by the death of one of their Rangers.

Mortality was anathema to the immortal elves. A puzzle and a sad, sad thing. "His jokes were terrible." Erestor said quietly.

Arrenis nodded. "So was his breath."

"He will be missed."

"Yes." Arrenis agreed sadly. "The other? Dunrid?"

"Recovering." Erestor spoke quietly, then listed the man's injuries and how they'd been dealt with.

Arrenis sighed, lost in his thoughts. "The human healer is decent." This said in spite of their loss. The death was not a reflection of skill, but of poor luck and fate.

"Dwarven." Erestor sniffed in quiet amusement, which drew his companion's attention. Seeing the questioning look, the High Elf continued. "He was seeing visions."

"Concussed?" Arrenis guessed.

"Oh yes." The Rivendell High Elf nodded slowly. "Thought he heard healing songs. In Elvish. Saw a red-headed maid, blinked and it turned into a red-bearded dwarven healer."

The other elf sniffed in mock disdain. "How disappointing. I'd have chosen to keep the illusion." He looked down for a moment, then up again very quickly as something occurred to him. "Was this Coppernose's wife? The one who speaks Elvish. It would explain the song."

Erestor's brows furrowed in thought, then he shook his head. "I don't think so. Met the dwarven healer. Full ginger beard shot through the blondish streaks. Nothing feminine about him, or his voice."

Arrenis shrugged, slightly deflated. "Probably the concussion then."

Erestor nodded lightly as he agreed before changing the subject just a bit. "The humans and dwarves in the town seem unusually friendly."

Arrenis seemed to have noted the same thing himself. "It is good. I think." He paused for a long moment. "The guard appears well trained here."

"I think this might be a good place to leave a few Rangers. A way-station." Erestor offered the suggestion cautiously. "Perhaps we should stay a few days and see for ourselves if it might be feasible."

Arrenis considered the words, and then gave a slow nod. "A few days will give Dunrid a chance to heal up some as well."

"I asked Coppernose the Elder how it came to pass that the humans and dwarves here get along so well."

Dark hair shimmered in the light of the few candles still lighting the large hall. "Oh?" Asked Arrenis.

"His response was that he'd seen first-hand that cooperation among the races is necessary for the survival of all. Especially with Mordor rising." Erestor said, still surprised by both the answer, and the fact that it had come from a dwarrow. One of the most stubborn of races.

"First-hand." Arrenis considered that for a moment. "Erebor?"

"Best answer that I can arrive at as well." Erestor agreed. "Survived the Battle of Five Armies. Came away with some rather progressive ideas."

"He seems to be the leader here." Arrenis tendered the thought. "The human woman, Mirrenda, is head of the humans. But Coppernose the Elder appears to be in charge of the town guard. Even the human members. They seem to respect him too."

"So we speak with both he and the Mirrenda most earnestly before making a decision about a way-station out here. It'll be good to have one on this side of the mountain pass." Erestor said quietly, before the two fell once more into a comfortable silence.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel held her tongue as she watched all three of the dwarrow stand in the back hallway and shake off the excess snow and ice. She'd already been home, undressed and bathed. Then she'd sat up and brooded.

Bofur looked at her bland expression and winced. She had on the 'elf mask' as he'd coined it. The one that hid all her emotions. It meant trouble. "Lad, see to the repairs."

"The orcs didn't destroy much, and we'll look at the walls during daylight." Kili protested.

His protest turned into a groan as his older brother hip-checked him. "He meant repair that." Fili pointed directly at the quiet she-elf.

"Oh." Kili looked at her ever-so-calm face and winced.

"You're hurt." She said coolly, looking down her nose at him.

"No." The brunet denied, spreading his hands to show he was hiding nothing. "Orcs never touched me."

"You're guarding your right shoulder, carrying it stiffly." Tauriel said, her even tone hiding her worry.

Kili rotated his right shoulder and then shrugged. "It's still achy sometimes if I over do things."

"Like shooting orcs and showing off." Fili grinned and winked at his brother's wife.

"If you were worried, why didn't you stay at the hall?" Kili asked, doffing his outerwear and hanging the wet cloak and scarf on the wood pegs lined up on the wall.

Tauriel's lips curled up into a bit of a sneer. "Strangers in the town? Elves? I didn't want to answer unnecessary questions about who I am and why I live here, married to you. And who you are."

Kili's heart melted all over the place as he sent her a heated look. She'd been trying to protect him and his hidden identity as a prince of Erebor. A supposedly dead one. "I don't want you to have to hide. Nor to keep you from meeting other elves."

Bofur made a strangled sound of protest. "Lass, ye are not in exile! Not someone to be wrapped up and put away, never to be seen again."

"Nay? Then you three didn't go off to fight without me?" Her words turned cutting in vocal tone.

Fili and Bofur shared an alarmed look. Both turned to Kili and muttered something about him being on his own for this one. Then both dwarrow beat a hasty retreat.

"Cowards." Kili called out.

The dog came trotting up to him and sat, putting up a paw in greeting as he whined. "No. Not you Cowardly, them." Kili pointed at the door which had just swung closed.

Tauriel watched her husband as he divested himself of his wet boots, sighing as he left them in a little puddle. "Kili …" Her voice trailed off in disappointment.

Kili shook his head, dark eyes cautious. "Bofur and Fili tracked through the house without taking their boots off. They're worse than me."

The she-elf wasn't sure why she was making a bigger problem out of some wet boots than they warranted. She just felt completely off kilter. "I took out your braids." When in doubt, change the subject.

"I see." Kili commented, walking up the stairs toward her. "What are you really upset about?"

She wasn't sure. Stalling, the she-elf crossed her arms, standing in the middle of the stairs and blocking his way. Kili stopped in front of her, and since he was standing below her the usual height difference was significantly greater. "You've not reinjured your shoulder?

As an answer, her strong and hale husband scooped her off balance and into his arms before walking calmly up the rest of the stairs to their room.

Deciding not to struggle, Tauriel pulled her feet closer to her so as to not run into the wall. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, unmindful of his still chilled leathers. "One of the rangers died."

"I heard." Kili said gently, tightening his arms around her as he nudged their bedroom door open with his toes before carrying her inside. "I'm sorry."

"The healer tried his best, both of them did. But he was too far gone." Tauriel whispered sadly. "The other man will recover. However, I'm afraid my dress will not be the same after tonight."

Kili grimaced to think about what all that blood and mess would due to the pretty teal silk. "The loss of a dress is nothing to the loss of a life." He pushed the matter away, focusing on the more important. "At least the others made it safely to town, and the second man will heal."

Tauriel felt the tension in her husband's shoulders as he settled her onto the soft down comforter on their bed. "Your arm is bothering you."

"Aches only. Nothing terrible." Kili deflected her concern as best he could, trying to reassure his wife that he was fine. "I'll soak it in the tub tomorrow if it gets too stiff."

"Good." Tauriel watched him move around the room, undressing. "I didn't like staying behind."

The dark-haired dwarf she'd married turned and gave her a soft look. "I know."

"It was the right thing to do. For the baby." Tauriel admitted, sounding a bit lost as she pulled her knees up to wrap her arms around them.

Shirtless and still in his stocking feet, Kili approached her and sat on the bed in front of her. "You're an elf. Never sick, never ill, rarely injured. You're used to be in the front, protecting others. It has to be hard to allow others to protect you instead."

He understood. Feeling the prickles in her eyes, the she-elf blinked several times to avoid the gathering moisture.

"Six more months." Tauriel was appalled to hear even a hint of a whine in her voice.

Kili patted her leg and she stretched out her foot across his lap. His strong hands wrapped around her toes. He pushed, pulled, and kneaded until she moaned and dropped her head back down onto the bed.

"How is it that you barely look pregnant in the belly, but your feet are swelling?"

Tauriel huffed out a laugh and shook her head. Her arm moved over her eyes as she wiggled her now happy toes.

"I want you to meet the elves."

Tauriel didn't answer right away, nor did she look at her husband. When he said nothing further, she finally spoke. "Why?"

"Rangers have training in healing."

"Kili?" The red-head's arm moved off of her eyes and she rose up on her elbows as he switched his ministrations from one foot to the other.

"The babe is small."

Tauriel paused and gave him an affectionately disdainful look. "Of course he's small. He's part dwarf. Practically tiny."

For that remark he pinched her toe and she jumped just a bit. She gave him a warning glare and then relented. "Elven pregnancies last two months longer than dwarves. The babe is part dwarf, and there is no denying that I have more room to carry than a proper dwarrowdam. All is well. He is well."

"You said he." Kili teased, though looking vastly relieved by her words. "Isn't this when you tell me it could be a girl?"

Tauriel very slowly shook her head.

Kili's mouth went dry. "You know? You actually know? Not a guess or a feeling, but a knowing? In truth?"

"He." Tauriel affirmed, then frowned. "Why do you look so pleased, you've been adamant that the babe is a male from the very beginning? Didn't you explain that most dwarrow pregnancies end up with male children?"

"I knew. But I didn't know!" Kili grinned infectiously at her, pulling a return smile onto her lips.

"We'll need a name." Tauriel laughed gently. "Something not too elven or too dwarven."

"Yes. After he's born, of course."

The she-elf stilled, cocking her head to the side. "After he's born?"

"Ill luck to name a child before you can see him." Kili said, his smile dimming slightly. "That's not the same among the elves?"

Mutely, Tauriel shook her head. "We name them prior to birth. Count their birthday from the moment of conception."

"So he'll be a year old at his birth?" Kili's voice rose in surprise. "And already named?"

"Of course."

The dwarven father-to-be shook his head, his dark eyes wide. "No. How can I craft a True Name for our son until I can hold him in my arms and feel his heart beat?"

"He can't be born unnamed." Tauriel looked horrified at the very idea.

Kili's mouth tightened. "He can't be named until he's born."

Silence filled the room as the two stared at each other in disbelief.


	34. Hallucinations

"He needs a name." Tauriel felt nearly like crying as she tried to get her stubborn dwarf of a husband to understand. "To you he's not born yet, but he's very real to me. A presence within me. I can feel him. And all Elven children are named around this time."

Kili clenched his jaw tight and shook his head. "I know. You've been telling me the same thing for near an hour now."

"And yet you don't seem to understand."

"I understand. But that child you are so aware of is also part dwarrow. And it is EXTREMELY bad luck to name a child before holding him. It is our way."

Tauriel glared at him. "Have I not left everything Elvish behind, or very nearly? Have I not participated in your Dwarvish ways? I believe I have demonstrated my willingness to be a part of your world. Please believe me when I tell you how important this is to me."

Kili about melted as he wrapped his arms around his wife. "I love you. I love you more than my own life. And I will do anything for you, but what you ask for in this … Tauriel. Look. Cannot we call the baby something elvish until he's born and then give him a real name?"

"A ….real ….name?" The she-elf drew back, her emotions running high. "Are you saying that the Dwarven tradition of a True Name is the only real name a person might have?"

"No, of course not!" Kili groaned, feeling besieged and defensive. "That's not what I'm saying. We just give a temporary name until the birth …"

"A temporary name? No. No, no, no!" Tauriel pulled back from him, leaving him to feel bereft. "That is no real name! I don't care if his name is some ugly, consonant ridden Dwarvish name of too many syllables, but he needs a REAL name and TODAY." She paused, breathing hard as she stared. She couldn't take back her demand, but inwardly she wailed at how her words had slipped out.

"Ugly?" He stared at her, his jaw setting with his own particular stubborn way. "We can give him a purely Elvish name, something babbling and sweet and tripping over the tongue. After he is born."

The two stared at each other, unwilling to give in.

Tauriel sighed unhappily. "Kili. He's here. Alive. At his birth he will already be a year old. Would you leave any infant unnamed for a year? He feels the lack, I can assure you."

The dwarven father eyed her sorrowfully. "If I were an elf, I would already be in communication with my son. Is that it?"

Tauriel caught her breath, hearing the desolation in his tone as he crossed his arms and closed himself from her. She shook her head. "I did not mean I wished you were an elf."

"Nor would I ever wish to be."

She blinked, sorrow changing quickly back to anger. "Only Dwarven. So much better than Elven, is that your decision?"

Now Kili blinked, balking at the way she put his argument. "I …."

"Need to leave." She crossed her own arms this time.

Pride went to war within him, and won. "Fine!"

"Fine!"

The duo turned away from each other, though both wishing the other would turn back and ….neither turned back.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Prettiest damned hallucination I've ever seen." Dunrid's lined face broke into a pale smile as he fought against the discomfort of having his wound dressings changed.

Erestor knew he was a competent healer, not a true master like Lord Elrond. Still, he grunted softly in approval of the work done by the dwarven healer who'd tended to the injured Ranger. It chagrinned him more than a little that he'd felt the need to second-check the work, since it had not been done by Elvish hands.

"Well, when we arrived at the meeting hall, the only red-head standing over you was the dwarven healer." One of the Rangers teased lightly with a mocking grin full of relief. "No songs, no beauty. Though he seemed to know well enough what he was about."

Erestor finished putting on the clean dressing and looked up at the others. "He'll recover." He said blandly and without fanfare. "The healing is well in hand."

Arrenis, the other elf with the group, nodded in approval. His own injured arm had been tended to and was currently housed within a sling for good measure. He too had been seen to by the dwarven healer, as the human one had been with the Ranger who had died of his wounds. Wounds too fell for any healer as the man had bled so severely on the inside that he'd stood no chance.

The human Ranger, Riccard, looked around at all those gathered in the meeting hall. He made note that none of the townspeople were close enough to overhear. "I like this place."

The other Rangers seemed to mull over the simple declaration for several minutes. One by one they each nodded until only the two elves remained. Arrenis dipped his head and looked pointedly at Erestor.

The tall elf from Rivendell sat back, running one hand over his face as he thought. "I had not previously considered Brookshire for a Ranger way-station. From what I had heard, it was a trading town with wooden walls and ill-trained guards."

Riccard coughed and shook his head in amusement. "Looks like things here have changed since then. How long ago was your report?" He teased, culling laughter from the Rangers. It amused the humans in the group to remind the elves that what might pass for current information to elves, could be old news for the humans. So different were their lifespans.

Erestor let his lips tilt upwards vaguely, not mentioning that the report was less than a year ago. No. He shrugged, remembering that the Elvish twins who had talked him into joining this Ranger endeavor had chided him about keeping too much to himself. "The report was barely a twelve months ago, if that."

Arrenis stirred uneasily then relaxed. "About enough time for some dwarven warriors to return from Erebor's battle fields and make an impact?" He let his voice trail off to indicate it was merely a guess.

The Rangers all nodded, remembering the Coppernose brothers as they'd lead a competent guard crew in defense of their town.

"I have sent messengers to ask to speak with the Human council here, and one as well to the Coppernose house." Arrenis admitted.

Riccard smiled and stretched lazily, putting his hands behind his head in an indolent move. "And I asked a young guardsman if he knew of any beautiful, single, red-headed, she-elves." All eyes turned mockingly upon him. He spread his hands in innocence. "So that she can be introduced to Arrenis or Erestor, of course."

"You don't see yourself as Beren then?" Arrenis scoffed, mentioning the famous love between a human male and an elven female.

"Got an answer, is all I'm trying to say." Riccard smirked.

Dunrid moaned and closed his eyes. "I don't want to know the answer." He laughed ruefully. "I can't face the disappointment."

"Oh?" Riccard whistled tunelessly, then his merry eyes sobered. "So you don't want to know that he was lying to me when he knew nothing of anyone fitting that description? Lying poorly."

All eyes immediately turned toward him. None of them were mocking this time.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Bofur swiftly moved his feet out of the way lest he trip the pregnant she-elf as she stormed past him, heading for the bookcase. "Lass?" He winced as he caught sight of her profile. She looked like a storm about ready to burst.

Tauriel looked through the books, picking one up and starting to flip through it in a half hazard manner. Bofur's eyes widened with distress as she tossed the book carelessly on a nearby table. "Lass?" He tried again as he hazarded an approach.

Another two books joined the first and then she turned in a graceful yet angry manner. She took a seat and grabbed the first book to look through again.

Bofur bent and glanced at the titles of the other two books on the table. "Dwarven histories?"

"Names."

Scratching his head, Bofur smiled wanly and nodded, then shook his head. He wasn't catching on. "What?"

"I need names."

One possibility immediately came to mind. Bofur's eyes dropped to her barely rounded belly and then back up to her preoccupied face. "Baby names?"

Her only answer was a snapping sound as she turned the page with a bit too much force. The dwarven toy-maker went pale. "That's bad luck, lass."

The book lowered and furious green eyes glowered at him in a way he'd not seen before. She'd not looked this upset even when capturing their Company in the Mirkwood, and that had led to their imprisonment.

"Bad luck." He repeated weakly. "A name can be chosen once he or she is born."

"He is alive and well and will count his age from conception, not birth. As such. He is …and he needs a name." Tauriel went back to her book. "Utok? Who names a child Utok?"

"Camstok." Bofur supplied weakly, realizing that she must be reading from the period of Durin the V. "Lass, please. Names are important."

"Very." She snapped, not looking up at him again. "Kukhir?"

"The Bonethane or the Flintborne?"

Tauriel sighed and turned the book around, pointing at the passage she was reading.

"Bonethane." Bofur shook his head nervously. "He fell in battle poorly. His father's name would be better."

Tauriel peered at him over the top of the book. Waiting.

Bofur smiled weakly. "Khoulgrad."

Green eyes blinked and pulled the book back towards her, going back to reading, rejecting the name out of hand.

A knock on the door pulled Bofur's attention, though he didn't want to leave the elf in her current mood. "COME IN!" He shouted.

Tauriel glared at him and the hatted dwarf flinched slightly. "Sorry."

A moment or two passed before Teldu peered around the corner. "Hello?"

"Oh lass!" Bofur seemed genuinely pleased to see her. "Please tell Tauriel that dwarves don't name babies before they're born."

The apprentice baker paused, looking startled. "We, uh …don't."

Tauriel pursed her lips as if to indicate she was refusing to listen. "Garbeat? What kind of name is that?"

"Northern Reaches I think." Bofur answered, then shook his head. "It's not important!"

"No child of mine will be another day without a name!" Tauriel said with anger and assurance, command in her tones.

Teldu's eyes widened, clearly not wanting to be part of this discussion. "Fili is meeting with the Rangers and Mirrenda, he asked me to retrieve some plans from his study?"

"What about Ordag or Jostalegin?" Tauriel inserted in a cool vocal tone.

Bofur scrubbed both hands over his face in consternation. "Ordag is a fine name, though I can't place the reference." He turned to Teldu. "Top drawer in the study."

"Jostalegin?"

"Female name." Bofur said apologetically.

"Skadmolin. Hurfic."

"No."

Tauriel looked up and Bofur shrugged and spread his hands helplessly. "I just don't like that one."

"Which?"

"Any." Bofur said sadly, his eyes looking tragic as he tried to comfort her. "Ah lass, this isn't our way."

Tauriel's eyes turned cold. "And your way is the only way?" She asked, her tone turning dark and dangerous.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili and Mirrenda watched as Kili paced within the council chambers. It wasn't that big a room.

The older human woman glanced cautiously from the corner of her eyes toward the blond dwarf. The one the town had simply started calling Coppernose the Elder. She didn't know why the two didn't want their familial names used, but figured it was something in their Dwarven culture.

Any which way the pie was cut, the outcome was the same. The Coppernose brothers had been a boon for Brookshire. Not only had they arrived in time to save she and several other important town merchants. But Fili, as she privately called him, was quickly shaping their town guard into a small but competent force.

Come Spring, Brookshire caravans would have the best guards around. Enhancing trade, reputation, and profit. Which would only help to grow their little community.

Unless the Rangers were asking for a meeting in order to relay something to forestall that progress. Mirrenda fidgeted a bit in her seat, playing with her quill pen in an absent manner.

Fili's hand came down on her shoulder, standing next to her as she sat at her desk. She glanced up at him, taking comfort in his quiet confidence. Kili, or Coppernose the Younger, turned on his heels yet again. The brunet who only looked young, compared to her years, but was actually older than she, did not have the calm demeanor of his sibling.

"Should I ask?" Mirrenda hesitated over the words. Wondering if she was treading on private Dwarven business.

"He won't tell me either." Coppernose the Elder shrugged.

A glare from Kili had them both turning quiet again. The dark-haired prince put his hands behind his back and walked over to the window, staring out at nothing in particular.

It wasn't but a few minutes later that a brisk knock at the door brought Mirrenda's young grandson to announce the arrival of the Rangers.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Teldu paused at the threshold of the private study. Private. Fili's place. She breathed in the subtle scent of wood cleaner, books and something that hinted at masculinity. Not an actual odor, just whiff of something that told her this was HIS space.

Teldu shivered and cast off the eerie feeling. She was here on his request and Bofur had told her she could come in. It wasn't like she was intruding. Yet, in the back of her head she knew that Fili probably meant for Bofur to get the plans for her to bring back. Not for she to be here all alone.

Taking advantage, Teldu walked around the small room, taking note of the books on the shelves. More importantly, she glanced not at what Fili wasn't reading …but to what he was. She bent over and looked at the book on his desk. Closed. With a silk tasseled bookmark made from silver. Actually, she recognized the piece as having belonged to Hamnar. The older dwarrow who Fili claimed was his sire.

The dwarrowdam sniffed, dismissing the claim entirely. The one person she knew Fili not to be? Hamnar's child.

So, why was the powerfully built and charismatic blond hiding himself? In Brookshire? A nice enough small town, but hardly a huge Dwarven enclave. Unless, that was the purpose? Not to be surrounded by dwarrow?

Then why make friends with all the dwarves in town? Why pay suit to her? Teldu grimaced. And why call attention to yourself by standing out as a leader? For that was exactly what Fili was doing here in Brookshire.

"Fool." Teldu mocked herself, trying to throw off her ponderous thoughts as she moved to the desk. "Get the plans." She muttered to herself, opening the top left drawer. Parchment, quills, two daggers, extra bottles of ink and some twine. Twine? The dwarrowdam's lips twitched in amusement. No plans though.

Alright. Top right drawer. Teldu blinked. More parchments, but these were sealed with wax and ribbon. Rabid curiosity stole at her and her fingers twitched with the unholy desire to invade Fili's privacy. Tentatively she poked at one fat roll of parchment. It didn't break open its seal and reveal its contents.

She snorted with self-derision as the parchment rolled maybe a quarter of an inch. But some writing become clearer as it moved. Erebor. She frowned.

Fili was still refusing to escort her to the Lonely Mountain. He proclaimed himself willing to go only as far as the Mirkwood. Why?

She stared at the parchment, then frowned. Underneath was a pink square of silk.

Guiltily, Teldu tugged the small square out from beneath the parchment rolls. It was the handkerchief of a female. A female with initials monogrammed onto the fabric in small, neat stitches. Someone whose name started with the letter S in the common tongue.

Jealousy roared to life unexpectedly within her. She shuddered under the feeling. Teldu frowned sharply. She'd never been a very jealous individual, not even with her flirty sister. But she'd tasted Fili's lips and knew the heat of his arms around her. And now that she knew these things, she didn't want to let them go.

"Find what you need lass?" Bofur asked as he approached the door to the study.

Teldu swiftly thrust the offending pink handkerchief into her pocket and smiled wanly at the older dwarrow. "Not in the top drawers."

"Oh?" Unconcerned, Bofur scratched absently at his chin and walked over to the desk. He laughed and picked up a stack of papers tied with twine from underneath the book she'd glanced at. "Here they are."

Teldu chuckled, now knowing what the twine was for. "Thank you, Mr. Bofur."

"My pleasure lass. Anything else ye be need'n?" The toymaker asked.

Teldu realized that the other dwarf was deliberately avoiding speaking of Tauriel and her attempts at naming the baby. Knowing that was private business, she shook her head. And if she was really dying to ask him whom Fili knew with a name starting with S, well, she couldn't bring herself to ask. She smiled and shook her head.

Bofur returned her smile affectionately and gestured to escort her back to the door.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"You and …Dis?"

Dwalin closed his eyes in consternation. He shook his head.

Balin moved to take the spot on the cliff next to him. They were sitting outside. On the cliff with the secret staircase that wasn't exactly secret anymore. Songs were being written and song almost daily about the quest and all parts of the adventure. Still. The two brothers were alone out here at least.

"They married?"

The bald sibling grunted, not even trying to pretend he didn't understand the oblique comment. "Both ways."

Balin nodded thoughtfully, digesting the information. Dwarven and Elven customs were both met then. "You hinted at fruit."

Fruit. Dwalin sniffed and shook his head in disgust. "She grows."

Pregnant. Balin smiled, pleased beyond measure, and yet … he had reservations. "She isn't of us."

"Does that matter now?" Dwalin turned to his brother with a rueful look. "She grows. And I have sworn."

Balin's eyes widened at the implication. Sworn to protect the new generation of Durin? Even though the blood was mixed?

Dwalin nodded gravely. "The other …is looking."

"Ah." Balin acknowledged, his inner qualms quieting somewhat. "It is too bad that the other couldn't take something with him from home."

The bald warrior weighed those words in his head. What was his brother hinting at? He sent a confused look toward the white bearded dwarf.

Balin sighed. "He shouldn't have to be looking, he had …ties here."

Dwalin cleared his throat, nodding his understanding. Coryan. Fili's betrothed at one time. "That tie is closed to us." The dwarrowdam in question was related to the current queen, Dain's wife. "And the other might have his eye on another."

This made the white haired dwarrow frown sharply.

Knowing his brother as he did, Dwalin continued. "Well, he couldn't stay by himself forever. Nor should he have to live without, or do without some fruit producing of his own."

"This conversation is ridiculous." Balin snapped.

"Agreed." Dwalin snarled right back.

The two brothers fell silent, but neither could bring themselves to talk openly about Fili and Kili. Not if doing so gave the heirs away. Just because they thought they were alone out here, and out of earshot …

"He made promises." Balin finally broke the silence.

"He died." Dwalin said bluntly. "She moves on. They seek new ties for her."

Balin made an unhappy noise of acquiescence, giving in ungraciously. "None of this sits right."

"No."

Balin sighed. "So. You and Dis?"

Dwalin growled and hunched his shoulders defensively. "No."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"A way-station?" Mirrenda took a moment to breathe, her mind moving furiously. "For Rangers?"

Arrenis leaned forward in his seat, the elf concentrating on laying out the reasons that the proposal would be good for all.

Fili's mind was racing just as fast as that of the human councilwoman. Rangers. In Brookshire. He fought to keep his expression even and blank. His blue eyes slid over to his younger sibling. Kili was staring at a spot between his feet, though he had no doubt that he was also thinking about this.

Rangers. Humans and Elves. So far. Fili blinked, the only expression he allowed himself. This would increase the number of strangers coming in and out of their town. Yet it would strengthen them, help with protection and bring in increased trade.

Would it also bring an increase in danger? As in recognition. Would the changes he and small family had wrought in this town bring about the need to vacate?

"What worries you?"

Another voice. Fili glanced up. It was the other elf, the one introduced as Erestor. This one was looking right at him, as if able to see his inner disquiet.

"Privacy." Kili responded, though the question wasn't technically addressed to him. "Safety."

Erestor cocked his head to one side, obviously asking for further clarification. But Kili fell silent. The elf then turned his eyes back to Fili. The blond prince met his look, but made no effort to comment.

"You feel our presence will bring unwanted attention." Arrenis asked. "I can understand. Mordor is awake once more."

Mirrenda frowned sharply, clearly unhappy to hear that word in her office.

"Mordor and the master there will cast his eye on many places, perhaps he will bypass Brookshire if the Rangers have no presence here." Erestor allowed.

"And perhaps not." Fili countered in a low grumble. "We are a prosperous trade route, if only a minor one."

"A role we would like to outgrow." Mirrenda added crossly. "Becoming far more than minor if we proceed as planned."

"That's not what you meant by safety and privacy." Riccard, the human Ranger spoke up from where he was leaning against the far wall, his legs crossed casually at the ankle. He straightened and looked between the two dwarves he knew only as Coppenose the Elder and Younger.

Erestor nodded sagely. "Our men have been asking about a beautiful, red-headed she-elf. They are met with evasions and lies."

Kili glowered, leaving his brother to answer. "That's not the way I heard the question was asked. But no matter the manner of the asking, the answer is the same. There is no such person in Brookshsire."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel put down the book, rubbing her tired eyes. She seemed to become so fatigued so quickly these days. Sighing unhappily, she pushed aside the book she'd been perusing.

Her green eyes turned to the tray that Bofur had fixed for her, trying to tempt her to eat. Her stomach turned at the thought. In fact, the smell of the cold chicken, light though the scent was, made her feel sick on the stomach.

She needed to move.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Erestor eyed the house with speculation. He'd slipped away from the others as they'd been inspecting the town walls.

There was a mystery here. And before he could even think of committing Ranger resources to Brookshire, he needed to know the truth.

The Coppernose brothers were obviously good leaders, that much was clear during the Orc attack on the township. And through speaking with them he'd discovered they were intelligent and well versed in both defense and attack planning.

So why their near burning need for privacy. And the Younger Coppernose brother. He could speak decent Sindarin, though his accent was closer to the Woodland Realms than Rivendell. So. What of his spouse, who could also speak Sindarin?

He approached the house quietly, though not stealthily. Still, he did not knock as was proper. He needed to know the truth and uncover what was hidden. Whatever that might be.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel heard the gratifying sound of her arrow shaft finding the target all the way through her bones. She gritted her teeth and recalled how an early instructor had told her to picture someone's face as the target, someone you were angry with.

She sighed. It hadn't worked. It was only when she dismissed the picture of her arrogant husband and replaced it with orcish trash that she'd been able to let loose her arrows. Apparently she wasn't angry enough. Tauriel smiled sadly to herself as she shook her head.

Training took over. It was that simple.

The sound registered AFTER she'd nocked an arrow and spun, hearing a soft step behind her that did not belong to a dwarven boot.

Erestor blinked. Tauriel blinked. Who was more shocked, neither could say.

"Dunrid did not exaggerate, nor apparently did he hallucinate." The words, and the unexpected visitor, were Elvish.

The rounded accent of Rivendell sounded odd to Tauriel's ears. "We speak Common here." She told him, not lowering her bow.

"I mean you no harm." When that had no response, the elf gave her a small smile. "I am Erestor, of Rivendell."

Tauriel lowered her bow almost reluctantly, but her readiness to attack did not decrease. "You intrude, Erestor of Rivendell."

"That was not my intention."

"But that was your result." She tilted her head at him. "And are you in the habit of entering private residences without permission or invitation without the intention to intrude?" It was a pointed question.

"I startled you, and I humbly apologize." The tall elf bowed perhaps a bit lower than she would have expected for someone of his rank, to hers.

Tauriel nodded belatedly. "What is your intention?"

"You are the wife of Coppernose the Younger?"

The red-head blinked her jewel-bright eyes and then nodded in acquiescence. "I have that honor."

"Silvan?" He asked gently.

Her bow rose two inches and he made a gentling sound, as one might to an unbroken mare. Tauriel gritted her teeth at the supposed condescension. "I am here, freely released from service."

Erestor eyed her carefully, taking in her erect posture and her picture perfect fighting stance. She was extremely well trained, and deadly. He approved. He smiled at her and then suddenly he felt his knees buckle slightly. "You're with child!"

Tauriel smiled menacingly. "Observant."

"I startled you, and you're expecting." The tall elf sounded horrified and she was bemused to see him put out a hand to steady himself, catching one of the posts surrounding the courtyard.

"I am fine, I assure you."

"My trespass cannot be so easily forgiven." Erestor of Rivendell looked up at her, his color gone pale.

Tauriel thought she might understand. An elf who was pregnant, even a Silvan one, was a treasure. One to be treated special and cautiously and with great honor.

"I hold naught against you." The red head finally lowered her bow.

"I do." The voice was midnight dark and full of evil intent.

Both elves turned to stare at Coppernose the Younger.

Erestor surprised them both when he dropped to one knee, bowing his head. "I wondered at what you were hiding. It is with my great dishonor that I realize that your subterfuge was to protect, not to deceive. I have been chasing Mordor's shadows across Arda and have let paranoia run rampant through my mind. I did not consider that your actions and words were so pure."

Kili's weapon lowered and he sighed heavily, his eyes finding that of his equally as shocked wife. "I can't kill him, can I?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I can reassure you that the babe is not too small." Erestor handed Tauriel a cup of tea, made from his own travel packs. It was Elvish in origin, not the black tea the dwarves had been giving her.

The she-elf tasted the blend and found it …lacking in taste. She put the cup down only after drinking nearly half, not wanting to offend.

"Her paleness?" Kili asked with some residual worry in his face, his eyes almost pleading.

The tall elf smiled at the anxious young father-to-be. "She eats not enough iron-rich food. More red meats. Greens. Do you have preserved strawberries for the winter?"

Kili breathed out a sigh of relief, nodding gratefully.

"It will help with the fatigue too."

"I did not say I was fatigued." Tauriel said quietly.

"You have yawned twice and it is only late afternoon, there are circles beneath your eyes." Erestor told her gently.

"She gets ill with me when I urge her to rest." Kili put himself on the other elf's side, making Tauriel want to scream.

Chuckling, Erestor shook his head. "She can do whatever she feels she can do, as long as she doesn't push herself too far. Small rest periods during the day would be fine."

Tauriel sighed, knowing her husband and the other dwarves would never let her be now. "You know they're going to badger me into taking naps now."

"Get your rest while you can." Advised the tall elf Ranger. "The baby will give you none after."

"You've done this often?" Kili asked eagerly. "Seen to expecting mothers?"

Erestor sighed and shook his head. "Not enough, never enough. But yes, I have in the past. Not often lately, unfortunately." He nodded at the young couple, burning to ask them questions about how they'd come to be married. But he'd been rude enough already, breaking in and startling a pregnant elf like that. He should be run through.

"I'm not tired from doing too much." Tauriel protested weakly, trying hard not to yawn again now that the action had been mentioned. "We argued last night and this morning."

Argued? Erestor sent a warning look over at the young husband.

Kili held up his hands, shaking his head. "Cultural differences."

Tauriel sighed unhappily and picked up a piece of cheese from the platter Kili had put on the table. "Apparently it is considered bad luck to dwarves to name a child before the birth."

Instant understanding. Erestor frowned sharply. "It is not bad luck to not name a child before he is born. Just bad manners. It leaves the child without an identity to begin forming. And it keeps the parents from bonding while the child develops."

Kili grimaced, even though the elf might have been saying it wasn't horrid not to give him a name now. "Tauriel can commune with him in a way that I cannot. It grieves me greatly."

Hearing the longing sadness in her husband's voice, the red-head reached across the table and caught his hand. She'd not considered how left how he must be feeling. "He knows your voice."

Erestor's eyebrows rose. "Truly?"

"My husband sings to the babe every day." She didn't mention just what it was that Kili was singing about. "Our son becomes happier every time. He is not aware enough to know who either of us are, not yet. But he likes it when you sing."

The backdoor to the kitchen opened and Fili walked in, stopping to stare suspiciously at the threesome at the table.

Kili grinned weakly at his older brother. "All is well."

"Truly?"

Kili squeezed Tauriel's hand, since she still held him. "Yes."

The she elf nodded. She gave a small half smile and decided against telling her husband or his kin that she had just named the baby within her.

It was against Dwarven tradition to name the baby aloud or write it down? Fine. Deep in her heart though, she sent the name to her unborn child. Nain Cuthalion. Two names for a dual-natured child, one Dwarven and one Elven.

"Yes." Tauriel repeated, feeling better already.

Kili eyed her and groaned, dropping his head.

"What?" Fili asked, unsure.

"She named the baby." Kili moaned. "I know she did."

Erestor sighed and Tauriel smiled. "If I never speak it, write it or tell it, does it matter?"

Fili stared and Kili squeezed her hand again.

Erestor smiled, watching the strangest family he had ever seen. Yet, it all somehow seemed to work.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Nain is a traditional name for a Dwarven King of Durin's line. Cuthalion means "strong bow or dauntless one"


	35. Hiding

Dunrid winced as he moved trying to find a comfortable position, drawing a concerned look from the elf watching him. The Ranger gave a weak smile to show nothing was wrong and Arrenis went back to his task of making more arrows. The recent fighting with the Orc raiders had put a severe dent in his weapon supplies.

Riccard, honing his sword, looked up. "It is good this town has the right materials." He said rather vaguely, although he really did have a point to make.

Arrenis nodded, looking up as Erestor entered the room. Absently he answered the human male. "I wonder. A peaceful trading village in winter …yet with very decent blades and supplies to make arrows. Well-crafted supplies." His voice held a note of suspicion. One he knew his fellow elf shared. So when Erestor smiled widely and winked, the lighter haired elf drew back in no little surprise. One eyebrow rose in deliberate question.

"This will be a grand place for a Ranger way-station." Erestor announced, removing his outer cloak and shaking the snow off of it before hanging on the provided peg by the door.

The Rangers all stirred in their seats. The dark-haired elf was usually less demonstrative with his words, and his smile was welcome but definitely different than his usual bland expression of observance. "Sir?" One of the human fighters spoke up.

"There are secrets here." Riccard said deliberately. He held up his blade with a soft frown. "The blacksmith had several finely crafted swords and daggers on his work benches, but claimed he wasn't the creator. And he has no apprentice."

Erestor nodded and amazingly, his smile widened. "Secrets yes, but not bad ones." He paused and shrugged. "I'm thinking the blades you saw might be of Dwarven origin."

Arrenis put down his tools and wiped his hands on a clean cloth. "You can tell us?" Meaning could the information be shared with the whole group.

"Dunrid was not hallucinating." Erestor hinted broadly instead of answering directly.

The wounded Ranger groaned with a slow growing smile, then a chuckle that ended up in a groan of discomfort due to his wounds.

Riccard frowned quite sharply. "Then why the lies from the town? Why the subterfuge? This I do not like." There were murmurs of agreement from all around them.

"Apparently, no one lied." Erestor looked directly at the human Ranger, his smile undimmed. "You asked about a single, beautiful, red-headed, she-elf."

Everyone paused, there was even a groan or two. Riccard sighed heavily and dropped his head. "They split hairs." He pulled absently at his left ear out of habit. "Which word was wrong?"

"Single."

Dunrid sighed with exaggerated disappointment, then looked up. "Wait. Single as in there is more than one such female, single as in not alone, or single as in unwed?"

General laughter and catcalls followed his question from the other Rangers. Arrenis kept his eyes on the tall elf by the door. He waited, for he knew there was more to come.

"Ah." Erestor held up his hand to call for attention and everyone fell quiet. "She is not single. As in not living alone, but with others. Not single as she is definitely married." His grin widened. "Not single even within her own body."

The human Rangers glanced at each other, unsure. There was no such hesitation with the lighter-haired elf, Arrenis stood upright at once, shock on his face. Then delight. He next went so far as to laugh outright. The human males looked on, their smiles growing because of the elf's joy though unsure as of to the why of it all.

Erestor shrugged at his fellow elf. "Privacy and safety." He said quietly, mentioning the words that Coppernose the Younger had spoken in the council office earlier.

Arrenis sobered, though still smiling. "New life. Here?" It was almost a protest.

Riccard started to clue in and he chuckled. "Your red-head isn't yours after all, Dunrid. And I think she's going to be a mother soon."

The other males all groaned good-naturedly as the wounded Ranger sighed, though he was smiling. To become a Ranger they all had to be single and unattached. They teased, they flirted, but each was committed to their mission.

Arrenis eyed his friend and fellow elf, seeing more than the others. He lifted his chin. "She is the source that taught Coppernose the Younger and his wife how to speak Sindarin?"

The darker-haired elf made a disagreeing noise back in his throat as he shook his head. "No."

"No?" Arrenis tilted his head slightly, trying to figure it all out and knowing he was being toyed with.

"She is his wife." Erestor did not leave him hanging for an answer.

More shock as Arrenis stared at his long-time friend, as if telling him to end the joke. Erestor shrugged and Arrenis' eyes grew wider.

"It is a mixed marriage, and the child will have two bloods." Erestor paused and added gently. "Such as Lord Elrond does." He reminded his friend. "Our honored leader is of half-elven blood."

"Taller though." Came the whispered response. Arrenis seemed to shake off his shock and he smiled a bit weakly. "Privacy and safety." He seemed to be mulling over those two words most especially. Things were making more, and less, sense now.

Riccard and the other Rangers were still trying to distill the news. "A she-elf really married a dwarf?"

"Indeed." Erestor walked over to a side table and picked up a small roll with cured ham. The food had been supplied by the local inn and was plain, but hearty.

Arrenis stared, trying to assimilate this new information. His mouth opened, but he said nothing. Finally he shut his mouth again and shook his head, clearly bemused. "What family?" He asked, wondering just who would have met, and fallen in love with, a dwarf. And of course why they'd not heard of this.

"Tauriel. Formerly of the Mirkwood. Highly trained and from Thranduil's own guard, used to giving orders from what I can observe. Silvan."

The lighter-haired elf nodded, taking it all in. His eyes narrowed. "She took her leave of service?"

"Released freely." Erestor countered, letting everyone know that the she-elf was no deserter from her oaths

"Thranduil?" Arrenis questioned, still unsure. The Woodland King wasn't known for being open with communication with the other Elven realms. His kingdom was considered isolationist at best. Oropher, the current ruler's father, had separated his people from the rest of the elves, and the Valar. Thanduil had not changed his sire's views and paths, keeping them for his own.

"I saw the disk. I saw her eyes. There is no deceit in her." Erestor paused, then added. "There is caution, worry, and reticence. She, and her husband, do not answer questions directly." He admitted slowly.

Arrenis' eyes narrowed in thought.

Erestor waited for his friend, eating his roll casually as he did so, picking at it really.

Finally the lighter-haired elf nodded slowly. "You sensed nothing darker than a need for privacy?"

"Darker? No." Erestor commented a bit dryly. "Of the dwarves I sense they are protective, prideful and prickly. Wanting to keep the world's eyes off of themselves. There are secrets aplenty. But I read no malice."

"Why hide here?" Riccard asked, for he had no doubt the couple were hiding in some way or another.

Dunrid sighed and rubbed his aching chest. "These are dangerous times. Is there a good place to hide anymore?"

Arrenis shook his head. "What will we do?"

Erestor chuckled. There was no clear line of command among the Rangers of the North. A few Chieftains left over from the days of the Dunedain. Still, the remnants of the once proud order were slowly beginning to reform now that Lord Elrond's sons had gone North to train them. Though without a real leader, not yet anyway. "Rivendell I suppose."

Everyone slowly nodded. Lord Elrond wasn't the head of the Rangers, but he did offer much in the way of aid and assistance. And while they as a whole didn't have a leader, the elves themselves did and it was to him they'd look. The Men all nodded, some frowned but not in rejection as it was known that the founder of Rivendell would assure them of sound advice at least.

"In the meantime. I suggest we draw up plans for a way-station here." Erestor smiled blandly.

Arrenis blinked, staring. "You are so sure they hide nothing sinister?" His voice showed no judgment on the matter, not yet.

The dark-haired elf thought of the strange little family he'd just left. He did not know their secrets, but he did see their hearts in how they dealt with one another. "I will abide with Lord Elrond's thoughts, but mine say that this is a good place for us." He hoped.

Arrenis thought it through, then he shook his head. "I say nay. We know too little."

"Come to the bakery with me on the morrow. See them, listen with your heart, your instincts and your ears. Tell me then if you sense anything dark or disturbing." Erestor invited.

Reluctantly, the other elf nodded.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Bofur dropped the five books down on the table with a loud 'thump', making the brothers lean back in surprise. Luckily Fili had pulled his mug of ale back with him.

"By the axe and blood!" Kili cursed quietly, righting his now empty mug with a scowl. There hadn't been much left, so there was little to wipe up with his shirt sleeve. Still, he grimaced and flung wet little droplets Bofur's way for retaliation.

"What?" Fili asked, his blue eyes steady.

"Lass is abed?" Bofur asked, even though he thought he was right he needed to be sure. Getting Kili's nod, the hatted dwarf handed each brother a book.

"Durin the V?" Kili read the title of the book. "The last century of his reign. So?"

"I've got Durin IV." Fili volunteered, sending a questioning look at their friend who was looking very serious.

Bofur smiled grimly. "Yer wife, lovely lass, was reading these all morning and afternoon."

Fili flipped open the book and grimaced. He caught on quickly. "Lot of names in here."

Kili had been turning pages until he heard that. He slammed the book shut immediately. "I don't want to know!"

"Lad? She was asking about Utok and Khukir."

Kili dropped the book back on the table and sent an ugly look at Bofur. "No. She may have named the baby, but at least she has the good graces not to tell us. Leave it be!"

"Even if she names him for the Bonethane?"

Fili hissed and shook his head. Kili growled and stalked out of the room. "She wouldn't have. Would she? Did you tell her that he was a Stiffbeard who married into the Longbeards? That he was incompetent and led to the flanking at …."

"I don't think she chose that name." Bofur soothed, drawing a relieved look from the blond prince. "But what if she did?"

Fili sighed morosely.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili stood just inside the doorway, watching. Late afternoon sunlight filtered through the curtains, the light falling across the floor and the stand that held his armor. Not the rich pieces that he had worn at Erebor, but a functional set that he and Fili had pulled together before leaving the Mirkwood. Armor that didn't scream that the bearer was a prince, or even rich.

Tauriel had her back to him, her long red hair cast into shadow in the chill of the room.

Kili frowned. He turned to the fireplace and added another log, stoking the flames a bit higher.

"I wasn't cold."

The dark-haired prince in exile turned, he smiled sheepishly at his wife as her green eyes caught him. "You're supposed to be asleep."

"Will you settle for resting?" She asked softly. "I am unused to being idle, or napping during the daylight."

Kili eyed the beautiful elf, marveling that she was really here. "You should be covered in rich, exotic furs. Mithral should drip from your fingers and emeralds larger than your eyes should circle your throat."

Tauriel blinked uncertainly, then she quite dryly gave her opinion. "Sounds uncomfortable."

He chuckled, though there was more than a hint of sorrow in his laughter. "You married a prince and have naught to show for it."

"I have you." The red-head sat up and patted the empty space beside her.

"My boots are dirty."

"They come off."

"I have to head back out."

"Boots can go back on again." She patted the bed again. "Please?"

Kili could refuse her not at all. He didn't even grumble as he pulled off his boots. Thinking about it a moment, he also pulled off his outer leathers. "It's a clean bed." He told her before moving up next to her.

With his back to the headboard, she snuggled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. Like this, there was no difference in height. Only closeness. His arm circled her, while her hand went to rest on his thigh. They stayed like that for close to a quarter of an hour without speaking. Just listening to each other breathe, enjoying the shared warmth.

"I'm sorry." He finally spoke first.

"I as well." She echoed his quiet tone.

He squeezed her shoulder lightly, rubbing his chin over the top of her head as she leaned into him further.

"I'm jealous." Kili admitted gruffly. "You can communicate with our son in a way that I am unable." She started to speak, but he touched her nose and she quieted. "It's more than that though. What if I'm not what he needs?"

Tauriel caught her breath and held it, shaking her head in denial.

"I'm no elf. I know nothing about being one. You have left all things Elvish behind, you're even learning Khuzdul. What if the lad is more elfling than dwarfling?"

Tauriel drew back, sitting up next to him and meeting his gaze head on. "You are going to be a wonderful father. If anything you are better prepared to be a parent than I am."

Kili stared at her and then suddenly laughed out loud. He made a face as she frowned at him, then laughed harder. "Ah lass. We're a pair."

Losing her frown, Tauriel rolled her eyes at him before reluctantly giving him a very small half-smile.

A large hand with rather blunt fingers settled over her softly rounded belly that barely showed. The touch was a caress and gentle as a single snowflake falling despite the strength she knew he had within him. Moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes and she blinked to hold the emotions, and tears, inside.

This song was different. The rough, deep tones were plaintive and enticing in some way that Tauriel could not define. And although she was able to catch perhaps every third or fourth word, the lyrics did not make sense, not at first. Yet as the song continued, she started to hear the pattern. Roughly she caught her breath, hearing the tale of a father taking his newborn up onto a mountain whose name she did not recognize. She missed a line or two, but then caught some more, as the child began to learn from the father and walked in his shadow only to come from behind it to surpass all his ancestors.

Kili's voice wove a spell of contentment around the threesome, as Tauriel stroked his hair. The song ended in a flourish, with those tears that she had been fighting against beading along the line of her lashes. One escaped her, falling slowly down her soft cheek and into his hair as she gathered him close.

Suddenly Kili sat bolt upright, his hand still upon her belly. "What was that?"

Tauriel grinned stupidly and laughed. "He kicked you. I think. It might have been an elbow instead."

Kili, wide-eyed with pleasure and shock, suddenly grinned so widely it seemed like the whole room brightened. "That was him?"

Tauriel nodded, pressing her own hand down on top of his as the baby within her kicked out once again. "I don't think he wanted the song to end." She teased.

Kili gave her a half-disbelieving look and she shrugged. "Is he unhappy?"

Concentrating, the she-elf 'listened' to her body and her son. Little Nain Cuthalion wasn't thinking thoughts, and wouldn't until after he was born into the world. No. But he did project generalities at her. Stressed, comfortable, uncomfortable, sleepy, and even strangely enough, curiosity. She frowned. "I think he's fine, possibly just stretching. It's odd, but when I'm awake and moving he likes to sleep. When I try and rest he decides to move around."

Kili looked at her, then her belly, and then back at her. He grimaced and glanced down to address his son. "Bad manners, lad."

Tauriel laughed as Nain Cuthalion immediately kicked his father's palm again. Father and mother shared a proud look even as Kili decided he did have time to share just one more song with his son.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dwalin yawned heartedly as he stuck his bloody hands under the running water. The large carved out cavern wasn't full of dwarrow, but there were several around him in the washroom. He barely noticed the comfort of heated water, though it was a welcome change with what they'd had to make do with ever since Smaug first arrived at Erebor.

The door opened behind him and even though he was at home, even though he knew all those around him, Dwalin automatically checked to see who was approaching. A lifetime of vigilance and habit.

The bald warrior straightened, his senses going on high alert. All movement and talk within the washroom vanished.

King Dain, Lord of the Silver Fountains, glared at them all dismissively. Each quickly left the area as soon as their ruler's gaze left them. Dwalin finished washing his hands off, rubbing at the dried blood.

"Hunting?" Dain's voice was harsh, angry.

The bald warrior blanked his face. Very cautiously he nodded, it was the truth after all. "Nice large bull moose." He said, though he guessed this was not what Dain wanted to speak to him about.

The last of the other dwarrow finished fleeing, leaving the two alone.

Dwalin waited, but the king said nothing at first. A glance at his face showed that Dain's temper was running high, his cheeks were red and his eyes fairly bulged with anger. "Your majesty?"

"There was an attempt on the royal family."

Shock and consternation, instant anger flooded Dwalin's blood. He drew up to his full height, his deep rumbling voice growling as he asked. "What?"

Dain waved a hand at the taller warrior. "Failed, but an attempt."

"The queen and the child?" Dwalin swallowed hard at the thought of either in danger.

"Fine, fine." The king peered up at the bald and tattooed warrior. "You're going to have to put off retirement. I have need of you."

Dwalin felt the ache all the way through his bones, torn. He needed to be with the lads, the true princes. He had sworn. But …Dain too was family and the queen was with child as well. He swore under his breath.

"I have heard rumors." Dain sighed heavily, then grinned. "Of you and the Lady Dis."

"No." Dwalin didn't even think of letting that rumor stand. "She was playing some kind of game."

"So I thought." Dain nodded, clearly unsurprised. "But you might have to let it stand."

These words did take the taller warrior by surprise as he stared at the king. "Sire?"

"The attempt wasn't on the queen. But on the Line of Durin." Dain's eyes held Dwalin's as the taller warrior sucked in a shocked breath, his eyes widened in instant fury. "Indeed." The king nodded at the other dwarrow's reaction.

"I need you close to her. Even if her claims on you were just to needle me or as a way to rid herself of guards."

Dwalin's fist thumped his chest hard in acknowledgement as he bowed his head, signaling his obedience.

"I can trust so few." This was a whisper, one that the tall warrior ignored as he wasn't sure the king had meant to say it aloud. Dain gave a quick frown and his voice rose to its usual bass rumble. "Mordor doesn't consider myself and my child to be of the Line of Durin. This strike goes to the heart of us. The last of Durin's direct lineage."

Three others flashed through Dwalin's mind, though he said nothing. Could say nothing. Mourned that he could not speak.

"Thorin was too damned determined, and too damned honorable. He should have wed, or at least dallied." Grumped Dain. "Left his heirs with me in the Iron Hills."

Dwalin nearly swallowed his tongue. Dain was speaking nonsense. Before the quest he would have called for Thorin's head if his cousin had dared to sire a child outside of wedlock.

The King Under the Mountain caught Dwalin's look and chuckled in recognition, nodding. "I know, I'm being foolish and did not think any such thing before all of this." He waved at hand around as if to indicate the entirety of the Lonely Mountain.

"I will report to the Lady Dis." Dwalin bowed, unwilling to discuss Thorin, or especially the former king's sister-sons and heirs.

"You will take her away."

Badly startled, Dwalin shot a questioning look at his king. "Away?"

"We will pretend the Lady remains here, wrapped in tight security. I will see to that. It is well known you plan to leave and retire. I will argue with you on the matter in public and you will slip away." Dain grimaced. "I know that will leave a bad taste in your mouth, but this is what I need of you."

"Sire." Dwalin answered, his voice weak as his mind raced over the possibilities. Already he was mentally wondering what Dain had in mind, and now he and Dis could repurpose that plan to suit their own needs. "Where would I take her? And with how many dwarrow?"

"I have a place." The king said with quite a sour look on his face, making the bald warrior draw back. Reading the other male's trepidation, Dain sighed. "No, nothing horrid. I had to make a deal with a wizard, and you know how I hate the very thought." The usually dauntless and fierce warrior-king actually shuddered as he spoke, distaste clear in his voice. "I still have to finalize plans, waiting to hear something back via the ravens."

Gandalf? Good. Dwalin nodded to himself with a soft grunt of ascent. That would be good. The wizard was one of the few who already knew of the surviving princes. All to the good.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Arrenis knocked on the door of the business with some misgivings. The red-haired dwarven healer that had dressed his wounds only three days ago gave him a sour look when he opened the door, but said little but for a generalized greeting. Though the dwarrow stepped aside for him to enter and at least did not appear reluctant to allow the elf inside.

"Yer friend's in the kitchen." Said the dour faced dwarrow, even though the sounds of someone in the back was clear to both of them.

Arrenis gave a short bow of his head, but hesitated on the threshold. "It is to my dishonor that I do not know yet your name. Nor have I thanked you properly."

The bushy-bearded dwarrow peered up at the taller elf with a blank look, then slowly began to chuckle. "Drat those Coppernose lads. They bring much good, but one of them marries a lass and suddenly elves are sprouting up everywhere."

Hearing the humor, rather than a true complaint, the lighter-haired elf gave another small nod of his head. "You compare us to weeds?" He teased just as Coppernose the Elder poked his head out from the back area of the bakery.

Surprised laughter shook the broad-shouldered healer and the dwarrow made a sweep of his hand in order to invite the elf inside. "My name is Hurrud Grimmaker and ye are welcome here."

"Grimmaker?" Arrenis' eyebrows rose in query even as he nodded toward the Elder of the two Coppernose brothers.

The dour face of the dwarrow dissolved into a genuine grin. "Aye, a poor name for a healer, I know. But I had no say in the matter upon my arrival in this world as a wee dwarfling."

The tall elf stood there, more than a little bemused. He was speaking with a dwarrow. Pleasantly. Finding the smaller male wasn't as flat and emotionless as his appearance might suggest. Arrenis inwardly felt his views on the world shift once more. The first time had been when the Sons of Elrond had introduced him to the Humans called Rangers. Where he'd found some of them to be most honorable, intelligent, and even a few to be likeable. He was over two thousand years old, and only in the last few years had he realized the world was bigger than simply than the Elves.

"We're all back here." The blond dwarrow lifted his chin in indication of direction.

Arrenis followed the dwarven healer toward the back, entering the kitchen for what was clearly a well-tended and clean bakery. Everywhere were the scents of delicious offerings, though nothing was out in the open since the business was closed. "It smells good in here."

The tall elf had no trouble seeing over the head of Hurrud, the healer, as he followed the dwarf back. Arrenis walked into the kitchen, looking around in pleased surprise.

This was not a healing place, but the scales and equipment for baking were clean, tidy, and precise looking. He supposed that measuring ingredients for healing was much the same for baking. Rivendell's chefs often held discourse on how savory cooking was accomplished by smell and taste, but the making of baked goods was nearly a science and required good measurements.

Erestor looked up, having clearly already arrived, he was measuring out tinctures and mixing them with help of a younger dwarrow with a sweet face and a soft, short beard.

Both Coppernose brothers stood nearby, watching and apparently at ease. With them was a mustached and hatted dwarf seated in a chair and looking to be asleep. Arrenis frowned, looking around for the red-haired she-elf of Dunrid's dreams.

Seeing the searching gaze the blond and elder of the dwarrow brothers sniffed and spoke. "She will return shortly."

Arrenis nodded, then decided to test the waters. "Apparently her decision to marry a dwarf has caused elves to sprout like weeds. According to the fine healer with the unfortunate name."

"It's not unfortunate, simply ironic." Hurrud Grimmaker said slyly, with more than a little humor in his voice.

The Younger chuckled and shrugged. "Two new elves can hardly be called weeds. Though they do wear green and stand tall enough to be such."

The Elder smiled, but didn't laugh out loud while the young lad crushing seeds for Erestor frowned. "That is hardly polite." He chided.

"Now lass, we're just having a bit of fun." The blond dwarf with the mustache beads said with much fondness evident in his voice.

Arrenis nodded, then stilled with shock. Erestor even turned and stared a moment. Lass? Each looked at the sweet and open face of the youth and readjusted their thinking. So. Female dwarves could have beards.

"Your faces!" Coppernose the Younger's laughter only grew.

Erestor returned his attention to the potions he was working on and refused to be teased into commenting, leaving Arrenis to face the teasing of the dwarves. "I'm feeling a bit weed-like at the moment." He murmured softly.

"Ah, but weeds can be so useful!" This from the hatted dwarf, who was still sitting and still had his eyes closed as if sleeping. "Remember how Bard seemed to think that kingsfoil was a weed to be fed to the pigs?"

"Athelas?" Erestor looked up in interest. "Fed it to the pigs?" The elf sounded horrified.

Arrenis watched and listened, his attention moving between each member of the group. He stopped while looking at the younger of the two dwarrow brothers, who was pulling off one of his boots.

"Now brother, if the Men hadn't let their pigs have the kingsfoil then we might not be here today. And you wouldn't have a fine wife and a babe on the way." The blond dwarf spoke lightly, though his blue eyes showed he didn't take the life of his sibling for granted.

The younger of the Coppernose brother's managed to roll up one trouser leg and bunch up what looked like winter woolens. The skin of his leg looked pale and had a heavy dusting of dark hair unlike any elf that Arrenis had ever seen. Then his eyes fastened on the wicked looking scar. He sucked in a harsh breath, coming forward.

"That looks like it was nasty, lad." The Grimmaker healer peered over for a moment, but then returned to making notes about the ingredients Erestor was mixing together.

Nasty? Arrenis nearly choked on his tongue. He gestured at the dwarrow, who nodded his assent. The elf lightly traced the healed wound, marveling at what it must have cost the warrior at the time. "You were indeed lucky there as athelas available."

"Not just the kingsfoil." The Younger proclaimed proudly. "But a gorgeous red-head who knew what to do with it. Elven healing had more of an affect than that fine plant, I'm thinking."

Arrenis looked up, meeting Erestor's gaze. Both elves then looked back down at the scarring on the dwarf's leg. "A shaft, not a blade?"

"Arrow, dark thing it was." The hatted dwarf said, still relaxing, and even following his remark with a jaw-cracking yawn.

"Sleepy?" The baker who was apparently female, chided gently.

"Been up trading since first crack of dawn." The hatted dwarf smiled. "Tauriel needs more red-meat? Well, we have plenty of other preserved meats and now we have what she, and the babe, need. Got a second goat too. Make sure we have'n plenty of milk."

Arrenis looked around at the dwarves in the room. None were as he'd always thought of their race. The dour faces he'd seen from time as he'd crossed paths with the occasional dwarf had only been the outside façade. This, this was the reality. Dwarves with humor, intelligence, caring, and true depth of character.

And nothing dark. Arrenis blinked slowly, realizing he didn't know the answers to his questions. Yet he understood better what Erestor had said yesterday. There was no stink of evil, nor shadow of Mordor, not here. "The Rangers have decided to build a way-station here, perhaps even a place of training."

At this announcement, everyone looked his way. Even Erestor. The darker-haired elf smiled, knowing from Arrenis' words that he was now in agreement and had overcome his earlier reservations.

"Why do you have your boot off?" The voice was female, and soft, yet hinted at a solid strength of will and purpose.

The Younger chuckled and having already rolled his pant leg back down, simply put the boot back on. "Showing off the power of weeds."

Arrenis took his first look at the Silven elf that had Dunrid sighing so. He'd seen fairer she-elves, but he could see why the Ranger had described her as beautiful. Red hair and freckles with a slender build that hinted at a growing roundness which any elf would celebrate with happiness. He bowed toward her.

The she-elf whom Erestor had named as Tauriel looked surprised to be greeted so warmly. Arrenis did not pretend to misunderstand. He was High Elf and she was not. Still, her status as pregnant and bearing new life demanded she be treated thusly. "You bring joy, honor, and a light to the world." He offered the traditional words of congratulations to an expecting mother.

Tauriel straightened her back, meeting his gaze head-on. This was no shy beauty or blushing flower. Arrenis approved as she tilted her head to acknowledge his words and his sentiment. Her eyes met his, and held his gaze.

Silvan or not, this she-elf had strength, will, and an indomitable spirit. Considering what he knew of King Thranduil and his views on hierarchy it was a wonder, she was a wonder. It also explained how she came to be married to a dwarf. This Tauriel was clearly not the type to walk away from love, no matter how many obstacles were in her path.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili watched as the elf known as Erestor finished up making tonics for Tauriel's pregnancy, to help ease her fatigue. It was a kindness, and the two elves seemed quite sincere in their congratulations to both she and Kili.

He still didn't trust them. Not completely. Oh, not that he suspected the potions to be other than helpful. He'd made sure that Teldu and Hurrud the healer had been present to watch the elf's every move and ingredient.

There was just something a bit too watchful about these two. Perhaps it came from them being warriors, just as he himself once had been. Fili grimaced. Perhaps that was the source of his discomfort. The fact that the elves were out there in the world, with their own names, and fighting against Mordor in their own way.

While he hid.

A gentle touch on his elbow recalled him to the present, and back from the deep reaches of his own mind. He smiled ruefully down at Teldu, who'd been seemingly guarded all day. Fili wanted to ask her what was wrong, but did not want to do so in front of an audience. He'd wait.

"I have the mixtures and ingredients listed." Teldu told him. "Between Hurrud and myself we can make this again if need be."

"It is a fairly simple recipe." Erestor said as he cleaned up after himself. "More a nutritional supplement than a medicine."

The red-bearded healer grunted, looking over his notes. "It's not too far from what I've made in the past. Some new bits and pieces, but nothing outrageous."

"I liked your suggestion of using oat straw." The elf said generously. "It is good for anxiety."

"I am hardly anxious." Tauriel spoke up, quickly irritated.

Kili frowned and nodded at the tall elf from the safety of being behind his wife's back. Fili smiled at that bit of cowardice, though he understood that his brother didn't want to needle his spouse needlessly.

As if sensing something, the she-elf turned and shot her husband a suspicious look. Kili simply smiled at her most innocently. Her gaze narrowed on him.

"Oat straw also is a good source of calcium." Erestor spoke soothingly.

Letting the others settle into general conversation, Fili put his hand on Teldu's shoulder. "Come, let me walk you back home."

His prickly baker stared at him a moment and he thought she'd give him a snarky response along the lines of how she didn't want to go home. Only she didn't. "That would be nice." She said rather blandly.

Alarmed, Fili gave her a long look and then grunted. Something was definitely the matter. He waited until the two elves took their own leave from the bakery, heading back toward the other Rangers he supposed. Then he offered his arm to the dwarrowdam he was hoping to marry one day.

They were half-way back to her home before Fili cleared his throat. "You're not talking."

"Neither are you." She pointed out with clear reasoning.

Fili stopped, looking down into her blue eyes that were so pale they were nearly spooky. "Something bothers you?"

Teldu sighed, bit her lip and then nodded. "You were attached before me." It wasn't quite an accusation, but it came close.

The blond prince's blue eyes widened. He'd not considered jealousy as a possibility for her mood. "My life did not begin in Brookshire. Yes. I have met others."

The prickly baker who held his attention so firmly shook her head. "I know. I've had suitors before, though no one serious." She sighed and looked up at him. "I am not so stupid as to think I was the only one to ever catch your eye."

"More than merely my eye." Fili avowed, catching her hand in his.

"What bothers me, is that I don't know your past. I don't even know your real name." She thinned her lips as she pressed them together. "I was nosy. When you sent me to your home for those plans, Bofur was tied up with Tauriel. He said they were in the top drawer. There are two top drawers."

Fili grimaced. "The plans were on the desk."

"Yes. I didn't know that."

"And you found ….what?"

"A pink handkerchief."

Fili laughed. He couldn't help himself. He caught sight of her disgruntled expression and laughed even harder. "That will teach you not to poke your nose into things." He tapped her nose with a feather light touch, making her flinch back with her guilt turning her mood further toward grumpy.

"No. It shows me that I truly know NOTHING about you."

That stilled his laughter, her tone didn't sound light-hearted nor teasing. It especially did not sound open to listen to him. Fili held his breath, waiting.

She stared up at him, as if daring him to deny her charge.

"You already know that I was once betrothed." He said cautiously, feeling his way into the quagmire of this particular conversation. "You also know she thinks I'm dead."

"Poor way to treat a dwarrowdam." Her eyebrows rose as she spoke.

Fili nodded slowly. "There are reasons."

"Which are?"

"Private."

Teldu stared at him for a moment longer, when he did not add to his answer she turned to walk away. His hand on her elbow kept her close. She glared at his hand, and then back up to his face.

"There are things involved that you do not understand." He told her fiercely, his heart aching with the need to explain as well as the need to keep his family's secret safe. "Your father knows, and finds nothing in my situation to keep us apart."

"That appeased me. At first." Teldu admitted. "Even my mother knows or has guessed."

Fili nodded reluctantly. He had no doubt that the fine dwarrow that was Dern would have shared with his spouse, especially once he himself had started openly pursuing their daughter. "What changed? The handkerchief?"

"I'm not a jealous fool." She snapped.

Fili shook his head, though he kept his touch upon her elbow. "I never called you such."

"I knew you were engaged to be wed, and I knew it had ended with your supposed death. But the reality …."

"Cannot be found in a pink handkerchief." He told her solemnly.

"You kept her token."

Fili dared a quick half-smile. "Actually, not. That token is from a human child. One that helped my family, and one that I fought to protect."

Teldu blinked rapidly, then her mouth formed a silent roundness as she closed her eyes in consternation.

"She did not even give it to me in person, her father did so. He was relieved that I did not share her regard but saw her as a child." Fili let his hand travel down from her elbow to capture her hand in his. "I kept it as a reminder, that I did not want to pursue a female of another race such as my brother. That I want a dwarrowdam."

"Oh." Was the best she could manage.

Fili used his free hand to push back her hair from her face, tucking an errant curl behind her ear. "One who would stand up to me, one who would make my heart beat faster, one who would set my world on fire."

Teldu swallowed and couldn't seem to look away from his earnest face as he spoke. "One who would go through his drawers?"

"Desk drawers, or pants drawers?" He asked with a deadpan expression.

It took a second to register, then heat hit her face along with a pretty rose color and she slapped his chest hard enough to make a sound but with less strength than it took to sting.

Fili grinned lasciviously at her. "We're in public. Keep your hands out of my drawers if you please." He waggled his eyebrows at her and leaned in closer. "Until later."

Teldu couldn't help the laughter that escaped her, though it was a bit mortifying to realize she was sounding like her sister did when she flirted. How had that happened?

"There is nothing in my drawers that you can't …."

"Handle? Touch? I beg you to stop!" Teldu hissed, deliberately stepping on his toes to get him to cease his rather risqué talk. "Tell me, the dwarrowdam you were once engaged to, was she all those things you listed?"

Fili frowned, he didn't want to speak about Coryan, not to Teldu. "Somewhat." He admitted cautiously.

"Then what separates the two of us?"

The blond warrior didn't pretend to misunderstand, he just wasn't sure how to explain.

"You owe me the truth on this, seeing as how you cloud everything else about yourself." Teldu gave him an earnest look full of meaning.

Fili groaned. She was right. He sighed and shrugged. "You're both beautiful, but in different ways. Both accomplished, though I don't think she can bake worth a damn."

She gave him a lingering glance that clearly told him to keep going.

"She was funny, but had a terribly snorty laugh that got on my nerves." He admitted.

"She didn't burn off your tongue at your own brother's wedding."

Fili chuckled and shrugged. "No. She would never have done that. And just to be clear, I admire your sneakiness but please don't do that again."

"I never repeat myself." She told him archly. "Would she have gone through your DESK drawers." She stressed that one word quite clearly, drawing a leer from her suitor.

"Oh, she would have gone through every drawer in my DESK and anyone else's desk if need be. Political creature in the need to know everything." Fili grinned widely, until he saw her calculating look.

"Political?"

"Forget that word." He told her in all seriousness.

"Until when?" She stressed, letting him know she was willing to back off, but only for now.

"Accept me, make it public and plan a wedding." He squeezed her hand in his, which he was still holding.

"So what makes me so special?"

"Everything." Fili told her the simple truth.

"Nevermind. If she were here, who would you choose?"

"It's not that easy."

Teldu drew back, pulling her hand away from his. "I think that's an answer pretty clearly."

"No, it's not." Fili insisted, capturing her hand and pulling it to his mouth. He pressed a kiss to her palm. "I made a promise to her. I would carry it out, as that is honor. I'm dead to her right now, for reasons you can't understand yet. But if she were here right now, I could do no less than keep my word even if it broke my heart."

Teldu stared at him, listening to his reasoning about honor. "All dwarrow speak of keeping their sworn word as if it were the very heart of them."

"It is."

"No. Not every dwarrow is like that. Not every one stands up to that ideal and embraces it like you obviously do. Who are you Fili?" Wincing, she shook her head. "No. Don't. I won't press on that, not right now. Just …if your word hadn't been given. It was just the three of us here …"

"You." He stated emphatically. "Only you. I choose you. I would always choose you."

"Did you choose her?"

"No. It was arranged."

Thousands of questions flew through her head. Arranged marriages were for those with higher social standings. Those with property or names. Who had his betrothed been, and why was she so interested in politics? Perhaps Fili's assertion that he could not tell her anything yet was the best choice.

"Alright."

Fili blinked, staring. "Alright, what?"

"Alright. I won't ask anymore. Tell me what you can, when you can." Teldu said clearly. "And you can court me. I'm not saying yes, not yet."

Fili grinned widely, his dimples clearly evident beneath his neat beard.

"And I promise not to search your drawers." She said blankly, then winked.

The blond warrior visibly drew back as he groaned. "Now lass, don't be too hasty. You have an invitation to search my drawers."

Too late Fili caught the sound of boots approaching them. With an air of dread he turned and caught Kili's amused eyes, while Tauriel simply stared.

Teldu blushed hotly once more.

Tauriel looked from brother to brother. "It must be a family thing." She muttered, recalling how Kili had once invited her to search his drawers as well.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Arrenis and Erestor were back in the council chambers, alone as the human Rangers were out scouting possible locations for their new way-station.

Erestor gave his friend a smile. "So. There is still a mystery here."

"More than one question remains." Arrenis agreed. "The Coppernose brothers are not as they present themselves, and yet strangely they only hide their names, not their natures."

"Military training and comportment, I would wager heavily."

"Agreed." The lighter-haired elf sighed. "But like you, I sensed no darkness or smudge upon them."

Erestor smiled weakly. "You saw that scar."

"And recognized it for what it was. Do you think he knows?" Arrenis nodded reluctantly. "It is amazing he survived. Though he was lucky it was an arrow, not a blade. Morgal weapons are nasty work. If it had been a blade cast in shadows that wound would forever give him trouble."

"The two brothers are no friends to Mordor." Erestor hazarded a guess. "Perhaps Sauron is whom they hide from? Though I cannot reason out why exactly."

"Do we send word to Rivendell?"

Erestor considered the question most thoroughly, taking his time. In the end he shook his head, as if reluctant. "I hesitate."

"I too." Arrenis nodded in agreement. "The brothers have gone to great length to hide themselves, that much is clear. To send a message that might be intercepted? It would be careless and wrong."

"True." The darker-haired elf pressed his lips together as he considered the other options. "If we return now, it is only a small piece of possibly little importance. We were sent on a mission and I believe we should continue. When we return to Rivendell, then we will present this to Lord Elrond."

Arrenis seemed relieved to have his own thoughts corroborated. He nodded in agreement.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dwalin entered the throne room, but the king did not speak to him there. Instead Dain invited him for a short 'tour', walking with him in private.

"I have heard back from the wizard." The king mentioned quietly.

Dwalin nodded to indicate he heard and understood. "What does Gandalf say? Where should I bring the princess?"

Dain gave him a sour look. "Gandalf? Nay. He led Thorin here, and we have a kingdom again. Yet from all tales he disappeared often on the quest. No. I want someone truly wise and powerful to protect Dis, the last of Durin's direct line."

"More powerful?" Dwalin asked.

"Saruman the White, leader of the wizards." Dain seemed pleased with himself. "Always go with the top, the leader. Dwalin, I want you to take Dis to safety. Isengard."

Dwalin nodded in complete agreement.


	36. Snowstorm

Lord Elrond, resting after a vigorous ride with his young charge and a day spent teaching tracking, looked up from the book he was reading. He frowned, something teasing his senses.

Estel, the young human king he was raising, glanced up as his mentor did. His soft and smooth cheeks showed no hint of a beard, not yet, though his eyes were already old despite his lack of years. "My lord?"

The elven leader smiled with true fondness, even as he stood and stretched. "Come, let us ready ourselves for supper."

"Is anything wrong, sir?" Estel stood eagerly yet trying to show restraint, mimicking the elf's posture and stance, though a small grumbling sound from his belly betrayed him.

"A scent on the wind, a trill from the birds." Lord Elrond frowned. "A storm is coming, though we will be spared I believe."

The young human lifted his head and sniffed the wind, though he merely looked mildly puzzled. The coming of a storm did not usually bother his erstwhile surrogate father.

Lord Elrond smiled and gestured for the lad to lead the way toward supper. He did not mention that he felt as if something, or someone, was stirring up the storm. He wondered though, who was taking the naturally developing weather and feeding it into something of a frenzy. And why?

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dwalin entered the throne room, his eyes finding Dain quickly. He silently nodded his head at the King Under the Mountain to indicate that he was prepared to leave for Isengard.

"Ah! My friend."

At the familiar, yet unexpected voice, the bald warrior slowed and stopped. His eyes turned from the king to scan the room, from one corner a certain person stepped out of the shadows helpfully. His face broke into a relieved and welcoming grin. "Gandalf! I did not know you had arrived!"

"Just so, just so." The gray-maned wizard smiled gently, though with true warmth. "Or just arrived, I should so say."

"From where and to where, is what he will not say." Balin spoke up cautiously, sending a glance over toward the King Under the Mountain.

Dwalin's eyes found Dain again and realized the king wasn't looking particularly happy. He realized that his monarch wasn't too thrilled at the wizard not sharing information freely.

"I hear you are about to retire." Gandalf spoke gently and with a completely open expression that Dwalin trusted not one bit. Here was a wizard used to keeping his own council.

Dwalin smiled warily, though he nodded. "I feel my age to my marrow, and the seasoning has left the meat." He hedged. Did Gandalf know, or suspect, where he might be heading? The old wizard had been one of the persons Dis had turned to in order to save her children. But did that mean that the pointy-hatted bastard knew where the heirs were living right now?

"I wish you would stay, my old friend, but I quite understand. Yes, quite." Gandalf's words were mild, and his beatific smile gave nothing away. Dwalin mentally cursed.

"He's staying a while." Dain said shortly, drawing a surprised look from the bald warrior. As far as he was aware there was no bad blood between the king and the wizard, not exactly. "Seems there are bad winter storms to the south and west."

"Terrible storms." Said Gandalf quite mildly. "Though it shouldn't make the journey here to the Lonely Mountain. No, it only affects us travelers you see."

Travelers. Dwalin grunted with sudden understanding of the king's mood. To the Southwest lay Isengard. As for Brookshire, that town was more directly westerly in direction, quite a distance from the White Wizard's tower.

"Well, that leaves me here as well then." Dwalin commented dryly. "Winter storms even this late in the season are not to be trifled with." His silent message was for the king.

Dain frowned, nodding surreptitiously. Whatever plans he had for Dis to be taken to safety was forestalled at the moment at least. "So, it's true then that wizards don't control the weather?" This was asked almost hopefully.

Gandalf spread his hands in supplication and bowed his head toward the current King Under the Mountain. "We have no power to stop nor start a storm, nor any ability to control what weather does."

Dwalin stared at the gray-maned wizard, hearing something …lacking in Gandalf's usually warm voice. "There is something you are not telling us." He accused lightly.

Balin snorted, then laughed. "That has ever been so."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili met the eyes of one of his guardsmen along the town walls. The human's limpid eyes flicked upwards and the blond followed his gaze. The tall form of the elf was clearly visible, his long dark hair playing in the breeze.

Climbing up to the top walkway along Brookshire's defensive walls, Fili looked around with some satisfaction. The work of replacing the barely functional wooden walls with sturdier stone was moving apace, despite the winter weather. The calendar said that spring was a ways off and snows still held sway this close to the Misty Mountains. Even so, the work was going well. Orcish raids and attacks had a way of motivating workers, and prying loose stiff fingers on merchant's purse strings.

Hearing him approach, Erestor turned and looked at Fili, his expression unreadable. "The plan was to leave on the morrow."

The blond dwarf sniffed the air and shook his head. "I'm thinking not. Unless you want to swim out of here through an ocean of snow."

"Ah. So the trees and the grass speak to the Dwarves as well as the Elves?"

Fili's bland expression soured a moment as he pulled a frown. "Enigmatic elves." He muttered darkly, then shrugged. "The air. I can smell a storm coming. There was a recent ring around the moon, and the cloud deck is lowering with a temperature drop anyone can feel."

Erestor raised both of his eyebrows and looked up at the sky as he nodded. "Also, the trees tell me."

"Prideful, unbending …" Fili groused and shook his head. "Just admit it, trees don't actually have voices."

"Not as such, but we hear them."

"They don't have voices." Fili said stubbornly. "Not actual out-loud speaking voices. No trees have that."

Ents." The elf named the obvious, just to be contrary. Though that particular race hadn't been seen in over a millennia.

Fili laughed suddenly, pointing at the elf. "Ah, but Ents aren't actually trees themselves. They are tree shepherds and only resemble the trees they are charged with!"

Surprise flowed swiftly over the elf's expression and too late Fili realized that he was betraying the education he'd been given by Balin and Thorin among others. Quickly he gave a bashful smile and winked. "Or so the tales all say. Nursery rhymes for dwarflings really. Made up nonsense."

Consternation, confusion, and perhaps a touch of suspicion. That was what the blond prince saw pass through Erestor's eyes as the elf spoke. "I assure you, they are real. Rare. If they remain in Arda, that is."

Fili let the conversation lapse out of self-defense. Sometimes he didn't even know what he should or should not admit to knowing, what was common knowledge and what wasn't.

Beside him, Erestor seemed poised to ask something new when the elf stiffened instead.

Attention caught, Fili looked in the direction that the elf was watching. "What?"

"Visitors."

The blond warrior frowned. Brookshire was on a trade route, even if not a main one, it was a well-used one at least. However. It was winter and snow still covered the region, though temperatures had allowed some melting over the past three days since the Yule celebrations.

Travel in winter was not usually heavy, though it did exist, mostly out of necessity. Yet it was only common sense to be looking at who would choose to travel at this time of year. Fili snuck a glance at the elf at his side. Present company, and the Rangers with him, included.

"What is it?" Erestor must have caught the glance and wondered at the meaning.

The blond prince-in-exile shrugged. "Just wondering what nefarious things winter travelers could be up to."

The dark-haired elf smiled slightly. "Us included, of course."

"Indeed." The blond didn't even try to hide his thoughts. Fili knew the elves had questions about he and his brother, especially with Kili married to one of theirs. Questions he had no intention of addressing. Still, it was good to let them know he didn't trust them completely either. "Can you make them out?"

"Not in detail, you?" Erestor asked.

Fili grunted and shrugged. "I can't even see them yet." He admitted with some reluctance.

In the end it took until late afternoon before a small band of humans approached Brookshire's walls, looking exhausted and encrusted with snow. Their horseflesh was pitifully cared for, drawing disapproving looks from the town guards and Rangers alike.

To the travelers just arriving, it might look like everyone was relaxing, joking and casual. But every Ranger just happened to be near the main gates when the visitors arrived, and the town guards were all alert and watchful.

The two elves, Arrenis and Erestor, were not in evidence. Though Fili knew without being told that they were around somewhere. He even suspected that Tauriel was out here with her bow, since her dog was running around.

Fili grimaced as Cowardly poked at the piled up snow on the edges of the path, as if afraid to get his paws any more wet than they already were. He felt Kili move up beside him on his left. "Couldn't talk her into staying at home?" He didn't have to ask if his brother's wife was out here, though he could not see her.

"Says she feels cooped up, imprisoned." Fili could hear his younger brother's discomfort and unease.

"We're here. Naught will come to happen to her." The blond assured Kili. "And she has her watch dog." He mentioned, his voice devoid of inflection.

The brothers both watched Cowardly sniff the snow, sneeze, then trot over to tremble next to Kili's leather-clad legs. He looked straight down at the shivering mutt and sighed unhappily. "She couldn't find a more pitiful creature?" He asked rhetorically.

"She obviously has a soft spot for the weak and wretched." Fili said, then grinned outrageously just as Riccard, one of the human rangers moved up to join them. "She married you after all." Heroically he kept from laughing as Kili said something extremely foul, sending dark looks at his older brother's back while Fili walked away deliberately.

Kili shot a challenging look at the human Ranger, but the man simply smiled, shook his head and held out his hands as if to show he was innocent of all wrong-doing.

"They say they are travelling south, through to Rohan as they have kin there. That they flee the growing menace in the north." Riccard's voice was careful, too careful.

Kili grunted. "You don't believe them?"

Riccard shrugged. "I don't know. They claim to be travelling from Ered Luin, of which I am unfamiliar. That they just recently came through the High Pass and it was still open, which I do know to be true at least."

"Ered Luin?" Unease pricked the dark-haired prince. "I would hear this accent."

The Ranger gave his companion a hopeful look. "You know the area?"

"I have known some who have lived there before." Temporized Kili just as his brother wandered back over to them. "Elder?"

"Younger." Acknowledged Fili.

"They claim they are from Ered Luin."

Fili frowned, his mustache beads dipping low as he shook his head. "Not with those accents. Nor with the ink I see stamped on their hands, what little is visible beneath gloves not nearly as ragged as the horses they push."

Riccard stirred with disquiet. "Easterling marks? Could they be escaped peoples?" He said, mentioning slaves that from time to time broke free and fled.

"Since when have the Easterlings pressed farther than Gondor?" Fili countered, shaking his head. "And they seem to be travelling in the wrong direction, if that is the case. As far as Easterling slavers, Ered Luin is far from their reach. I suppose some could have travelled as far as Minas Tirith, raiding there, but it seems a bit much to swallow. Nor do these Men have the right sounds in their mouths for the Blue Mountains."

"What is their wish?" Kili asked, looking over the group as they talked with the town guards.

"Shelter for the night, perhaps longer. They say a storm is coming." Fili shrugged as if to say that at least was true enough.

"I don't care for them." Kili groused, something seemed off about this group. Beside him, Riccard sniffed in agreement, his arms crossed.

Fili shrugged. "They have coins enough. But I don't know about space here. Brookshire's inns are still full. The council rooms are taken by the Rangers."

"Private residences then?" Kili pursed his lips. "I don't like the thought of them spreading out throughout Brookshire. I'd rather keep them together in one area."

"Agreed." Fili grimaced, then sighed. "Which is why Dern, Mirrenda, and I are offering beds to the Rangers." He looked up apologetically to Riccard. "Giving the council rooms to the strangers."

"A most generous ….offer." The Ranger answered with a depreciating smile. He knew they wouldn't be welcomed into private homes so easily if it weren't out of necessity. Then again, he approved the caution. "I accept."

Deven, one of the human guards of the town, trotted up eagerly toward Fili. "They don't seem entirely happy being housed in the council chambers, preferring an inn or someone's home."

"Oh?" Kili grinned, though not with geniality as was his usual wont. "Double the guards on the walls. Add patrols around the council chambers as well."

Deven blinked, then nodded in understanding. He didn't ask questions as he bundled off to see the orders carried out.

Riccard nodded, peering closely at the new arrivals who were being very quiet and not even really speaking among themselves. Why?

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Just in time to eat."

Arrenis shook out his cloak what was obviously a utility room for this type of purpose. The falling snow was so thick outside, with the winds so heavy, that he felt encrusted. The dwarf at his side was looking no better.

Coppernose the Younger pulled off a thick outer layer that looked like it might keep its shape from snow and ice alone.

The hatted dwarf that he'd seen before, introduced as Bofur, smiled gamely at the duo in welcome. "How was the watch?" He asked, looking warm and comfortable in his leathers that hadn't yet been out in the evening's storm.

Younger grinned and shrugged, pulling off his thick, fur-lined boots. "Can't see a damned thing. If anything is out there moving, I could not tell."

"Neither could I." Arrenis admitted as he too divested himself of wet and snow encrusted outerwear. Though at least his teeth weren't chattering like some of the humans that had been outside with them.

"But the next rotation is out there?" Bofur asked with some concern.

The brunet dwarf nodded grimly. "Double the guards, though the watch is shortened by two hours so no one has to be outside for too long. Elder is making the rounds about the wall now."

Arrenis nodded, looking up to catch Erestor's eyes as the dark-haired elf looked on watchfully. "When is your watch?"

"Not for another two hours." Erestor replied. "It's a good system that the Elder Coppernose has set up."

"Are we really expecting trouble?" Bofur asked. "I didn't get a chance to see the new-comers like'n you all did." He'd been trading with some neighbors at the time.

"Something was off about them." The brunet dwarrow grumped, walking into the warmth of the kitchen with a happy sigh. "You said something about food?"

"So, are we watching the goings on IN the town, or OUTSIDE the town?" Bofur asked.

"Both." Arrenis supplied as the brunet dwarrow he'd shared a turn on the town walls with sniffed the roasting meat over the hearth fire. "Though it is too bad that we can't actually traverse around outside the walls. The storm has decreased visibility tremendously."

Bofur nodded, but it seemed his expression turned carefully blank as his eyes sought out the younger Coppernose brother.

Erestor asked. "What?" Seeing the same odd expression as his fellow elf.

Coppernose the Younger seemed frozen in place, his dark eyes considering for a moment. Then he shook his head very slightly.

Bofur shook off the moment with a laugh and a wide grin. "Food is good, even if I do say so myself. Bombur couldn't have'n done no finer."

"Bombur?" Arrenis queried.

The hatted dwarf's smile slipped slightly and then he shrugged off the question with a casual wave of his hand. "Dwarf I know. Grand cook."

"Trained chef?" Erestor asked politely, digging slightly just because Bofur's attitude seemed a bit studied, a bit too casual.

"Miner, actually." Coppernose the Younger spoke up from where he was already pulling the choicest pieces of meat from the beef roasting over the hearth fires. "Just a good cook."

Bofur tugged on one end of his impressive mustache and then smiled a bit sheepishly. "He would have trained as a chef, if it had been possible. But our adad needed us in the mines."

Arrenis heard something longing in the dwarrow's voice, catching his attention. "You two are brothers? You said 'our adad'. And your father didn't want him to be a chef?"

Dark eyes saddened as Bofur shrugged and shook his head. "Yeah'n, well yes. Bombur be my brother. Forge master, that's what he is, really. No finer a hand on the workings of a forge. Got the touch, you know. Says cooking ores is as much an art as cooking foods."

Arrenis tried to puzzle out the words versus the sadness he heard behind the pride. "Forgive me for prying." He backed off the subject.

Seeing this, Bofur smiled for real and shook his head. "Nay, you be fine. It's just. After the dragon stole Erebor, we didn't work for fulfillment but out of survival. Lost everything the family did. And we didn't even live at the Lonely Mountain at the time."

Erestor now looked confused, making both dwarrow chuckle without humor.

"It wasn't only the dwarves living in Erebor that were touched by the tragedies." Coppernose the Younger spoke while poking through the vegetables, taking only the best looking. "Too many refugees flooding the dwarrow settlements. Resources stretched too thin. Revenue from trading the kingdom stopped all together."

Bofur pointed at the brunet dwarf on that one. "Exactly. Adad had contracts, lucrative ones. With Erebor. When she fell?" He spread his hands up emptily.

Arrenis shifted uncomfortably on his feet, his mouth tilting down into a frown. "To my shame, I heard of the fall of the dwarven kingdom after it happened, of course. I felt sympathy for the survivors, but did not consider the fuller difficulties."

Erestor nodded in agreement. "But I hear there is a Dwarven kingdom once more in the Lonely Mountain. Erebor is rebuilding. Have you considered moving there?"

Bofur opened his mouth, then shut it, he simply shook his head. "Me brother is there, actually." He spoke rather weakly.

"I'm sure they will be needing the services of a Forge Master." Arrenis said supportively.

Coppernose the Younger walked over to the group, carrying a fine looking plate of the best foods. "Erebor holds too many ghosts for us now." He said with finality, no shame in his voice whatsoever. "Brookshire is home for the moment."

"Aye, and while I'm a miner, and a good one mind ye, I am actually a toy maker by trade." Bofur grinned widely, puffing out his chest.

Arrenis blinked several times in a row just as Tauriel entered the kitchen, greeting them all. "A …toy maker?" It didn't fit in with the story the hatted dwarf had just told them, about a bleak need to work hard simply to eat and survive.

Erestor though, nodded in sage understanding. "Dwarven toys." His eyebrows rose with speculation. "Rich market there."

Arrenis, startled a bit, smiled in spite of himself.

The darker-haired elf took pity on him. "As an elfling, I was jealous of a piece a friend of mine had. A top. When it spun, the most wondrous music filled the air. But there was a trick to it. If you spun it just so, in the dark, it would light up and throw pictures on the wall."

Bofur beamed, rocking back slightly on his heels. "Ah! Yes. I make a similar piece with pinwheels."

Arrenis shook his head, not understanding.

"Dwarven magic." Erestor supplied with a smile at his friend. "Dwarven toy makers are esteemed highly.

The lighter-haired elf sighed and nodded. "I did not realize. I had heard that if I ever came across Dwarven toys to not let them pass me by, but I don't believe I knew the reason."

"Bofur makes amazing things." Tauriel smiled as she frowned down at her husband's plate of food. "You're not eating."

"Not that hungry." Came the Younger's surprising reply. Then the brunet held the plate out to his pregnant wife. "Here, share with me."

"I had dinner." Protested the she-elf, though she took the fork and speared some of the vegetables. "I did not think you enjoyed squash."

"Is that what that is?" The dwarf acted innocent. "Ah, you can have those pieces. Here. The meat is tender, Bofur is a master with sauces."

Tauriel paused, the eating utensil in her mouth. Delicately she pulled the fork free and finished chewing her squash, swallowing as her eyes narrowed. "Stop trying to feed me, I eat enough."

Arrenis tried not to smile as Erestor looked away to keep amusement off his face. Now the Younger's poking through the food for the finest pieces made more sense.

"You don't want this to go to waste, do you?" The brunet dwarrow wheedled, taking the fork and speaking a piece of tender beef. "And it's red meat. You heard what Erestor said about needing that."

The tall elf in question looked up at his name being invoked.

Tauriel gave him a cross look. Erestor smiled wanly. "You do need more red meat and greens."

Coppernose the Younger grinned and held the fork in front of her face. Tauriel grimaced, but took the proffered bite with ill-grace.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"So? When is the wedding?" Cleadeth was lying back on her bed, flipping through her sketch book as she held it up over her face.

Teldu blinked up, sitting at the desk and reading through a treatise on how to make a difficult cake. It was a process taking easily up to four hours to create, sometimes longer. "I'm studying how to make a spit cake."

"Why?"

Teldu sighed. "Because I have a feeling it may be on the Master's test."

Cleadeth stretched her neck back and looked at her sister as she stuck out her tongue. "We are stuck in a room because strangers are housed in our home. Adad won't let me even catch more than a glimpse of the Rangers."

"They're human and you're a flirt." Teldu reread the recipe instructions for perhaps the hundredth time. She sighed. "I just know they'll make me create one of these."

"Why?"

The apprentice baker rubbed her eyes, putting down the book for a moment. A book that had belonged to her uncle Dorn. She ran a sad finger over its cover, missing the irascible dwarrow. "It's a spit cake, baked over an open flame. Turning as you brush on even layers very thinly with the batter. Not only do the layers have to be even, but you have to rotate the cake carefully so that it browns evenly as well. It takes easily four or more hours of careful work."

"Ugh." Was Cleadeth's reply. She blinked her pretty eyes then grinned. "So. When's the wedding?"

Teldu wanted to throw something at her little sister, but merely groaned instead. "Why the need to know?" She avoided answering, unsure of her answer.

"The dress of course!" Cleadeath rolled onto her stomach and kicked her stocking feet in the air. "Spring? It would be pretty, but not much time to design the right dress. Summer would be too hot though. Fall would be grand, but it's so far away!"

The young baker sighed, nodding. "I'll let you know when I accept him."

Cleadeth frowned at her sister. "I know you love him." She said pointedly.

"That's not all there is to it though." The elder sister said a bit snippily.

"I know he has the town's respect. And our parents." Cleadeth sat up on the side of the bed, her eyes eager. "He's handsome, strong, and commanding. Doesn't mind hard work, you can see that when he's over at the blacksmith's."

Teldu bit back a groan, knowing how many times she'd peeked out the bakery window to see a Fili while he'd worked with sword making. Snow might be on the ground, but inside the smithy it was still hot. And seeing Fili's chest when his shirts became sweaty and they molded to his frame was …dare she say it? A treat.

"His name is not high, I'll admit." Cleadeth continued, counting things out on her fingers as she made various points.

But Teldu's mind stalled on only one point. His name. The dwarrowdam frowned. She'd agreed not to push, and she'd keep to her word. Yet it could not keep her mind from wondering, who was Fili really?

Her sister was right. He was magnificent. Strong and commanding. Teldu frowned. Used to commanding? He was whipping up the town guard into a rather elite force according to all the rumors, and he was doing it in a way that seemed almost effortless though she knew he was working hard. It was more that he knew exactly what to do.

Teldu swallowed uneasily. So. Used to fighting, warfare possibly. Not unusual for a dwarrow, not in this day and age. But used to leadership as well. A former captain perhaps? Or higher? Fili also seemed adept in wading through town politics within the council without stepping on too many toes. He was comfortable with Men and their ways, and seemed to find it important to work together with the other races.

Other races. Tauriel. Where had Kili met and fallen in love with a she-elf? From what little she knew, it seemed the answer lay toward the Mirkwood. A most isolated and secretive area. Near Erebor. She frowned at the thought of the Lonely Mountain, a kingdom where Fili adamantly stated he could not go.

Why?

He could have deserted. Teldu threw out that thought almost immediately as she chewed her bottom lip. Fili was no coward, and neither was his brother. She'd seen them attack Orcs when they were outnumbered. Cowardice was not in them. Could they have insulted someone of high blood and been forced to leave? That …could be possible actually. Though Fili didn't seem the type to let his mouth run free, but maybe Kili had said something?

Teldu groaned and let her head drop back to stare at the ceiling. Maybe she was overthinking things. Kili wanted to marry an elf, maybe that had been forbidden and they'd stolen their leave? Yet the brothers were also far from destitute or running with only the clothing on their backs.

They'd paid the town the back taxes on Hamnar's properties. They'd thrown a large wedding and owed no one from what she'd heard, paying for everything straight away. Tauriel sported a gorgeous emerald and diamond wedding ring and ….

A knock on the door announced the arrival of the sister's mother. Nurbera smiled at them both, then turned to Teldu. "Fili is in the kitchen hoping to see you."

"The Rangers?"

"In the front rooms with your father." Nurbera smiled at her eldest daughter. "Should I tell him you don't want to see him?"

"No!" Cleadeth was the one who answered as she pulled her sister up to her feet and straightened her tunic, frowning. "You should change into something nicer."

The dwarrowdam batted her sister's hands away, but did straighten her hair a bit in the mirror even as Cleadeth put some perfume on her fingers and rubbed it behind Teldu's ears.

Nurbera chuckled as Teldu tried to escape her younger sister's ministrations.

"Now, remember what you said. Let me know when you decide to marry so I can get started on the dress." Cleadeth ordered.

Teldu rolled her eyes. "Tauriel and Kili got married on one day's notice."

Cleadeth actually shuddered. "And her dress was nothing special, though the wedding was fun. If you think I'm letting you get married like that, think again."

Nurbera laughed. "And here I thought I was the mother, not you." She chucked her youngest fondly under the chin as Teldu fled downstairs toward the kitchen.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"If'n you all excuse this poor dwarrow, I'm going to catch a nap. My turn on watch will be in four hours." Bofur nodded at everyone affably as he headed toward his room.

Coppernose the Younger yawned, but didn't get up. Not with Tauriel's head resting on his shoulder.

Arrenis smiled, amazed that the height difference between the married couple didn't make them look ridiculous. Instead, it seemed so sweet. Tauriel was leaning a bit precariously, but the elf had no worries as her husband clearly had an arm around her to keep her from slipping.

"She tires quickly." Erestor sipped some tea.

The young dwarrow smiled, careful not to jostle his wife. "Don't tell her that, it simply irritates her."

Tauriel pinched her husband's leg and sat up, blinking. "Not asleep, actually."

None of the males mentioned the lines embedded along the side of her face from the decorative seams on her husband's leather tunic. They weren't stupid after all.

"Of course not." Arrenis said rather dryly. "Though it has been a long day, made longer by this storm and the town's unexpected visitors."

"Do you include yourselves in that?" Tauriel asked a bit tartly, then her eyes widened as she remembered that she was speaking with a High Elf.

Arrenis and Erestor both chuckled. "We are guests in your home." The darker-haired elf said quietly. "So yes, we include ourselves."

The red-head nodded her head in mute apology, though not taking back her words nor her sentiment. "These new-comers do bother me, however."

Coppernose the Younger rubbed his nose and rolled his shoulder where his wife's weight had so recently been resting.

Tauriel's gaze picked up his small movement. "Does it ache?"

The dwarrow rolled the right shoulder and shook his head. "More from the cold than anything else." He caught the elves interested look. "Recovered injury."

"Like the one near your knee?" Erestor asked rather blandly, trying to hide his keen interest. That particular scar had come from a morgul weapon, he was sure of it.

"No." The brunet dwarf laughed off the question. "Believe it or not, it was a worse wound, but this …" He patted his leg, "was a far more fearsome thing. It shouldn't have been, considering the damage done."

Arrenis nodded, hearing the message even if the dwarf didn't know he was sending one. The shoulder wound had been bad, but the morgul arrow had brought him closer to death though it shouldn't have if it hadn't been a weapon created in Mordor. "Erebor?" He asked, mostly to see a reaction.

He got one.

Dark eyes dropped in the usually open face, and when the Younger looked back up his face was bland, almost a mask. "I fought there." He admitted.

Tauriel shifted in her seat, deliberately pulling attention. "Perhaps I am tired after all."

Now, wasn't that interesting? Arrenis shot a look out of the corner of his eyes toward Erestor. It seemed the pretty she-elf knew whatever secrets her husband held, and was holding onto them herself.

"It really is too bad we can't go outside the walls and look around." Erestor willingly went along with the couple's desire to change the subject matter.

"Oh but there is." Tauriel spoke up, drawing an alarmed look from her husband.

"No." Coppernose the Younger said.

"Yes, there is." The red-head said quietly and then poked her husband's shoulder quite hard. Interesting to Arrenis, it was the shoulder that he had NOT been injured in previously. Then her green eyes met his and flicked over toward Erestor. She looked at the two elves, nodding with certainty. "Yes there is."

The dwarrow groaned unhappily and sank down into his seat a bit. "Bofur!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Saruman made his way deep into the hidden caverns near Isengard. He knew beyond all doubt that he'd not been observed, yet he took precautions anyway.

The two Orcs standing guard gnashed their teeth at him, but said nothing. One look from his glaring eyes though had them bowing, nearly dropping to the floor as they did so.

Saruman sneered. "An army worth of Mordor he asks for. What of you is worthy of more than the muck which covers you?"

"We serve, we serve!" The Orc assured the wizard, keeping his head bowed.

"Then speak." The wizard commanded with a look of disgust on his face, keeping his fine robes away from the filthy creatures. "The storm?"

"Grows as you spoke it to." The second Orc rushed to say. "You are mighty and your voice works even on the elements, oh skilled one."

Saruman nodded. His very name, or at least the name he adopted upon arrival in Arda, meant "Man of Skill". And few could withstand the effects of his voice. He frowned, though Gandalf still did not fall in line with any of the White Wizards more subtle plays.

The Istari had arrived at the Gray Havens together, all met by Cirdan the Shipwright. And although Saruman was the eldest and considered the leder, it was to Gandalf that the elf lord had gifted the Ring of Power known as The Red Ring, or Narya. That disservice still burned in the pit of his gut even so many years removed.

"Sir? We don't quite understand. The dung-king of Erebor is prepared to send you the last in Durin's direct line. Why do you seek to prevent travel?"

Saruman's eyebrows rose at the question. "Idiot. None may know of my allegiances. If the Lady Dis came here, I would end up having to protect her. Yet. If I delay her travel, and then on her journey here she and her escort are attacked on the road and destroyed it would be clear that I had nothing to do with the tragedy."

"You stall, for our forces to arrange that ambush." The Orc bobbed his head up and down like a good toady, grinning with his broken and stained teeth. "Wise, so wise!"

Saruman sighed, staring. "An army worthy of Mordor. Well. Let's get started." He waved a hand negligently in the air.

The two Orcs did not have time to register the betrayal as others rushed in and slit their throats, catching the foul smelling blood in goblets.

"Take the blood to my work table." Saruman ordered with a yawn. "I have work to do. Stronger orcs to create."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Teldu walked into the kitchen and then caught her breath as Fili looked up at her. The moment his blue eyes met her, he grinned. The dimples that she couldn't help but adore flashed at her beneath his well-kept beard.

"I thought you were walking the perimeter of the town walls?" She asked, knowing without him saying that he'd already done that.

"Done. And when I leave you, I'll do it again." Fili's smile dimmed. "There's something in the air I don't like."

Teldu nodded, not doubting his suspicions. "King Fili." She teased. "Protecting his realm."

His smile disappeared entirely. "Please don't call me that." He asked in all seriousness.

The dwarrowdam stilled, she'd known he'd objected to the title, but had no idea that it really bothered him. "Apologies."

"You really want to apologize? Bring yourself closer." He said with a bit of a leer as well as a rather cocky attitude. "I'm cold, is that any way to leave a guest?"

She snorted at the obvious ploy. "There's the fire." She pointed at the hearth even as she made her way closer to him, stepping inside his embrace when he opened his arms to her. "You ARE cold." She shivered as she made contact with his leathers. His coat and furs were hanging up beside the door, but his thick padded tunic was still thoroughly chilled.

"It's a bad storm." Fili murmured, leaning in to steal the kiss she offered up to him. "Come, warm me."

She grinned against his lips. "You speak like a bad imitation of a love saga, one of those travelling plays they offer in the summer."

"You mock me?" He growled, nibbling on her soft lips.

Silently Teldu thought of those plays, and their props. She smiled as she did not tell him how fine he'd look in one of the fake crowns they always wore. King Fili indeed. She moaned as his tongue played along the seam of her lips and she opened to him.

Really. Teldu's pale-blue eyes closed with pleasure as she hummed lightly and wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the cold as she leaned in closer. If Fili didn't want her to tease him about acting regally, he shouldn't be so strong. Or so handsome. So commanding. Or even taking a name from a dead prince. And he was too damned proud by half …and ….and ….

Fili's hands slid down hotly from her shoulders to her low back, urging her closer even as she held him tightly.

Teldu's eyes snapped open. He was too proud. Too proud to take someone's name. He never hesitated with the name Fili. Not like he sometimes did when Coppernose was called out.

"Teldu?" Fili murmured against her lips, sensing her sudden tension. His hands moved back up her spine to her shoulders, as if she'd merely been objecting to the caress. "Love?"

Coppernose wasn't his name. Fili was. But …the Line of Durin was dead and buried. Her mother had even made black candles that the family had lit in mourning after the news had reached Brookshire.

Teldu stepped back, but could only move so far as Fili still had his arms around her. She stared up at his face.

"Love?" He was sounding worried now. "Do I move too fast for you?"

King Fili. Her ears started to ring. She stared, her pupils dilating with shock. He had a strong likeness to the Durin line, easily recognizable to any self-respecting Longbeard. Yet that wasn't all that uncommon. But …THAT Fili was dead. Suddenly she caught her breath. Those mourning candles, they'd not been out in a while. Except for the one for Uncle Dorn. She'd not even questioned it.

"Teldu?"

"King Fili, King Under the Mountain?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

He didn't answer, but did go completely pale under his tan.

Teldu screamed as she leapt backwards, slipping as she landed on her backside. Staring up at a dead king.


	37. Recognition

Teldu's pale blue eyes blinked in rapid succession as she stared up at Fili. Horror and joy warred with each other. Recognition had her trembling with the rush of adrenaline and emotion.

"Please." He held out one hand to her, though what he was asking of her she could not fathom. Forgiveness? Acceptance? What?

"What goes?" The voice registered before she realized she'd been hearing people running toward the kitchen. Wincing, she realized it was because she'd screamed.

Teldu quickly scrambled to her feet, shaking her hands and dusting off her bottom as she tried to go for a rather sheepish smile. "I slipped." She managed to sound embarrassed and refused to meet the eyes of her rescuers. "So much for trying to look graceful."

The two human Rangers looked at her hard, as if trying to discern the truth of her words. They sent Fili blank looks. Then they moved forward as if pushed from behind, which it turns out was the truth of it.

Dern bullied his way from behind the Rangers right between them until he was glaring at everyone in the kitchen equally.

Teldu caught her breath, feeling trapped. She'd always considered her parent's kitchen to be spacious. But filled with two very tall Men, her father, and …well, the rightful King Under the Mountain …it was feeling considerably claustrophobic.

The thickly-bearded father flicked his eyes to both of the young dwarrow and saw how pale they both were. He judged his daughter's wide eyes and Fili's closed off expression. He made a grunting noise and thumped one of the Men in the chest. "Back to the other room."

"Are you sure?" The Ranger didn't look entirely convinced, though the other was smiling and nodding.

"Go, go. Dwarflings being dwarflings, that's all." Dern threw a stern look at the duo over his shoulder. A warning to behave.

Teldu waited until the kitchen door was well closed. Then she waited even further. The silence stretched between her and Fili like a living, breathing thing. Finally she cleared her throat. "He'll be back in a minute." Her voice sounded rather rough and she cleared her throat a second time.

"Teldu." Her name was a supplication.

She couldn't raise her eyes to meet his gaze, staring at his leather covered collarbone instead. "You're denying nothing."

"Do you want me to?"

"No. Yes, I wish you weren't who you are, but then again if you weren't I probably wouldn't be in love with you. And I'm overjoyed that you, the real you, isn't dead. But that doesn't mean that I'm really happy that you, as this you …" She waved a hand at him in general, "isn't the real, real you."

At her admission Fili moved towards her, stilling as she held up a hand to stop him. "Don't." She pleaded.

"This changes nothing between us." He said quietly.

Now her eyes did move up to meet his gaze, finding them brilliant and startling blue upon her. Was his gaze that much more direct, his features that much more handsome, his voice that much more compelling now that she knew who he was? Yes and no. "That is the most singularly foolish thing I've ever heard you utter."

The door to the kitchen opened back up and Dern poked his bearded face inside, looking at the duo anxiously.

"Go back to the Rangers, adad." Teldu said quietly and without force of any kind.

Dern's rather bushy eyebrows beetled over his eyes as he shot his eldest a telling look. Then he glanced at Fili. "I'm on her side of any argument, just so's you know."

The blonde prince nodded thoughtfully. "Safest place to be."

"Just so, lad, just so."

"Is that Prince Lad, or King Lad?" Teldu's voice was still quiet, but there was a slight sting to it now.

Dern winced while Fili schooled his features into a blank mask. "Now lass." He shrugged helplessly.

"It's Coppernose the Elder." The blond said, as if that settled everything. Which it didn't.

Teldu turned and stared at her father until he flashed a grin at her and sighed, shaking his head. "I won't guarantee how much time you'll have alone in here." He told them, gave them each a sharp look and then left, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Cleadeth can never know." Teldu said quietly. "Secrets are not fond of her and escape at very inconvenient times. And this is a very, very big secret."

"It is Coppernose the Elder." Fili repeated, staring at her.

Teldu blushed slightly, dipping her head. "Far be it from me to argue any point with YOU. But no, you're not."

"I am."

"Never." Teldu shook her head, finally look back up and meeting his eyes. Pale blue eyes against brilliant jewel-toned ones. Neither giving way.

"I would have told you before we were wed." He offered.

Teldu swallowed hard as her eyes widened. "I can never marry you now."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"This is a secret?" Arrenis guessed, easily reading the scowl on the younger Coppernose brother. He kept his tone cautiously friendly, non-challenging. He did not want to start an argument with is host, but if there was a hidden way outside it could be helpful.

The brunet dwarrow sighed, quite unhappily, his eyes deliberately not landing on his red-haired wife. Which did not set either male elf's minds at ease. They shared a quick glance between them.

However, Tauriel did not appear abashed at all. She clucked her tongue chidingly even as Bofur reappeared at the doorway. The mustached dwarf had obviously started to undress, his leather tunic askew though still basically in place. Interestingly, the hat was still on his head. Absently Arrenis wondered if the male dwarf slept in it.

"What?" Bofur asked with worry tinging his voice, clearly wondering why he'd been called back downstairs. "Something happening I should know about?"

Coppernose the Younger snorted in disgust while Tauriel spoke up. "There is a passage where someone could go outside the walls and make a discrete check on things."

The two elves watched interestedly as Bofur paled quite thoroughly and some strange sounding foreign words escaped the Younger. Whatever the words meant, they had a feeling they weren't terribly nice.

Tauriel's chin lifted as if she would defend herself against any and all. "This is important. I don't trust those newcomers."

"Ah, lass, neither'n do we." Bofur groaned, running an agitated hand over his impressive mustache.

"I take it there is a way to go outside, but that as outsiders to the town we weren't to know?" Erestor stated the obvious out loud, just to get it out there and stop skipping around the subject.

"No one knows. Not even the town. It's …." The Younger sighed, closing his dark eyes for a moment. "It's a dwarrow thing."

Elves weren't slow mentally, Arrenis sucked in a deep breath and nodded his understanding. Erestor grimaced. "An escape route, if faced with unimaginable foes. Like a dragon. So you build several ways out?"

Bofur laughed without mirth, shaking his head. "Yes, and no." He waffled his hand back and forth to indicate that their guess was only partly the truth. "Ya see, we weigh the need to escape against the possibility of someone gaining entrance. Our way out could become an enemy's way in."

"And dwarves aren't cowards." The Younger Coppernose supplied in an almost surly manner, as if defending his race against a foul charge. We will stand and fight, always."

Erestor wasn't a fool. He nodded quickly. "But you need a way to get the women and children out."

Bofur grunted at the elf's quick understanding even as he crossed his arms. "It's prudence. Not cowardice."

"It's wisdom, nothing more." Erestor said truthfully, drawing a grateful look from the hatted dwarf.

"And a secret." Arrenis spoke up, his words slow and cautious. Not wanting to tread on racial toes. "If you show us how to get out, then we would know the way in."

Tauriel sniffed and shook her head. "It would be impossible to get back in without a dwarf."

Bofur dropped his gaze, a telling move. Erestor grinned suddenly. "Toy maker."

Arrenis looked mildly confused for a moment, then his expression cleared. "The way is protected with dwarven magic."

The hatted dwarrow help up his hand, his thumb and forefinger spread slightly apart to indicate a small amount. "Just a wee touch. Nothing like the old days, the old ways. Not yet anyway."

Arrenis stared, he thought about not asking the next question but could not seem to stop himself. "And if any tried to enter without a dwarf knowing how to work whatever it is you have in place?"

Bofur's lips pursed outward and he smirked slightly, shrugging up his shoulders as if to indicate he wasn't going to answer.

Which was indeed answer enough for both elves.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"What do you mean you can't marry me now?" Fili's response to her words was both sharp and immediate.

Teldu smiled at him so sadly he wanted to groan. "Your betrothed, the first one. Arranged. A political match?"

The blond saw the trap lying in front of him but was unsure how to avoid it completely. He nodded tersely.

"I am an apprentice baker from a small trading town. She, whomever it is, is a better choice for you."

Fili said a rather foul word in Khuzdul that had Teldu's spooky blue eyes widening even as she shook her head at him. "No, I don't put myself down. But my name, which I discount not at all, not one bit …is not as high as yours, and you know it."

"Do you think I care?" Fili protested, reaching for her, and frowning as she stepped back deliberately. "I let my own brother marry an elf. Not even a High Elf at that. He married out of love, and I would do the same."

"Exactly." Teldu frowned at him, though her look was almost tender. "Fili. You married one of the two heirs of Durin off to an elf. That leaves you and only you to continue the Line. Durin's Folk. Durin's blood. From whom Durin the Seventh and the Last will be born. You cannot marry without thought. You have to choose wiser than that."

"What makes you think I'm not?" Fili protested, his spine straight and his eyes nearly burning into her own gaze.

The door opened and Nurbera walked in, she took one look at the two of them facing off against each other as if on the battlefield. The dwarrowdam blinked, frozen.

"Dorn already assured me that he's on her side of any argument." Fili said, all the while not looking away from Teldu.

Nurbera gave a weak smile, reaching back for the door she'd just come through, backing up. "In that case, I'll take your side I suppose." With that she slipped back out of the kitchen and left the couple alone again.

Teldu sighed, trying to ease the awful tension in the room. "I'm not a good political match."

"I don't want one. I love you." Fili shook his head at her, his eyes so very serious. "And I've given up the throne."

The dwarrowdam smiled sadly at him. "For now."

"I made a vow never to return to Erebor." Fili grunted, resolute and proud in the sanctity of his word.

Teldu looked at him, so proud and fierce, that she nearly cried with how much she loved him in that moment. Painfully, she shook her head. "You may have forsworn the throne, but you can't forswear your own blood. Who you are. Fili, my love, can't hide who and what you are, not forever. You were born to rule, even if it's not in Erebor. Dwarrow will follow you, even here they do so, especially the ones who don't know your real name."

"Love, please don't."

"You are the last of Durin's line. From your blood will come the next Durin himself. You. You need a wife that will fight at your side, who will rule wisely and well. One who is brilliant and a political match for you."

Fili suddenly grinned widely and triumphantly. "My uncle would have loved you."

It took Teldu but a second before her eyes widened as she realized that he was speaking of Thorin Oakenshield, hero and king, myth and legend already.

Fili reached out and snagged her arm, dragging her up next to his body. He stared down into her face. "I will have a wife that will fight at my side, one who if called up to rule will do so wisely and well. One who is brilliant and a political match for me. Durin the Last will feel privileged to have come from her bloodlines. And she will be a master baker as well."

Teldu groaned, unable to speak because Fili had taken her mouth and was kissing all the breath from her body.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dwalin watched Dis pace back and forth across the room. He eyed the comforts and small luxuries that the dwarrowdam ignored on a daily basis. Her suite here in Erebor was fit for a princess, a far cry from the rough-hewn cabin she'd made into a home in the Blue Mountains.

Dis turned, catching his far-away look. "What?"

The bald warrior refocused his gaze on her and shrugged diffidently. "Dain treats you well enough."

Expressive lips thinned with temper and dark-blue eyes flashed with temper so reminiscent of Thorin that it physically hurt him to watch. "Just because the cage is gilded doesn't make it any more welcome." She spread her arms to indicate the wealth around her.

"I would have broken some of it by now." Dwalin commented, leaning back in his seat.

Dis let out a soft snort of derision, as if to indicate she'd already done that. "It all just gets replaced." Her mouth drooped as she dropped into a whisper. "Only the important things are missing."

Thorin. Fili. Kili. The names went unspoken between the two of them.

"I miss them too." Dwalin spoke very carefully, not dropping his voice. If they were being overheard he did not want anyone to suspect that they plotted. And his words were truthful on many different levels. "They wait."

Dis sent him a grateful look and reined in her temper a bit. They wait. A euphemism among the dwarrow, it literally meant that those mentioned were dead and had moved on to the Halls of the Waiting. Only, in this case, it was code for all is currently well with her sons. They were in no immediate danger. Waiting.

The door opened and both looked over to see two guards studiously not looking at them as they allowed the tall wizard to move inside. Gandalf beamed benevolently at them as they shut the door behind him.

Dwalin stared at the tall wizard, hope in his heart. Though he knew not what he was really hoping for.

Gandalf smiled at him, then over at Dis, who did not lose her frown. "The boys are well?" He asked in a completely natural voice.

Dis' eyebrows shot up as her frown sharpened. Dwalin stood, ready to fight.

Gandalf waved one hand at them. "We are private, I can assure you of that."

"There are ears …." Dwalin started, then stilled as the Gray Wizard pinned him with a striking look. A look that said clearly that Gandalf was completely and utterly sure no one was listening. The bald warrior glanced up at the top of the wizard's staff. There was a small glow. He swallowed hard and nodded, retaking his seat.

"They are not boys." Dis said a bit sharply.

"Forgive me. Dwarrow. Lads." Gandalf smiled warmly. "Two for whom I am most fond."

"You were quick enough to kill them off." Dis started, then groaned suddenly. She ran one hand over her eyes and shook her head. "No, forgive me. I came to you with this plan. This, all of this, is on me. I am the architect of my own misery. It is unfair to blame you for accomplishing the impossible."

"You were the one to orchestrate their removal from Erebor in secrecy." The wizard said soothingly.

Dis smiled, her face pale. "And you who convinced King Thranduil to take them in and heal them. To keep our secret."

"They thrive?" Gandalf asked next. "How goes their recovery?"

It was with some surprise that Dis and Dwalin shared a look, as if they'd assumed the tall wizard had known all this already.

"Come. I am not all-knowing or all that powerful." Gandalf said almost disingenuously, overdoing the humble a bit.

Dwalin cracked a smile. "Reprobate." He chided.

"Perhaps." The tall wizard shook his head. "But I really would love to hear some good news. All I hear is how the Line is severed and that the Dark One is sure that Erebor will fall because of it."

"When?" Dwalin tensed, forgetting for a moment he was no longer attached to the defense of the Lonely Mountain, not technically. He was 'retired'.

"Oh, not for a while." Gandalf mused. "Not for a long while, if I am not mistaken. Sauron feels this place will fall whenever he wills it, so he will wait for the best time. If he takes Erebor now, and the Mirkwood as well as Dale then he knows that other forces will rise against him sooner rather than later. For now, he will wait."

"Do you believe in that stupid prophesy?" Dis asked. "That Erebor will not fall as long as the Line of Durin is strong?"

Gandalf shrugged slightly. "It doesn't matter. Sauron believes, that is all that we need to be concerned with."

Light. Dwalin stiffened. "Liar." He groaned as both sets of eyes turned on him. "If you didn't believe, then there would be no need to hide them."

The tall wizard cleared his throat, as if to tell them he was about to speak something of great import. "Sauron believes. That is all that is needed. If he knew the lads survived, he'd be trying to destroy them and take Erebor now. Regardless of others rising up against him. This is a border along which he doesn't want to fight. As long as he feels it will fall when he wills it, all the more time the king will have to build up his defenses."

"Dain." Dis said the name with no little bitterness. "You say the king, but you mean Dain."

Gandalf drew back, silent for a moment. "For now."

"Do you see the future?" Dwalin asked, almost holding his breath for the answer.

"No, oh no. I have not that gift." Gandalf temporized, deliberately not bringing the Lady Galadriel nor Lord Elrond into the question. Neither had 'seen' anything the dwarves would like, the future of Erebor was still clouded. Even though Galadriel knew that the true heirs to the kingdom lived, while Elrond did not.

What both had 'seen'? That Erebor had to stand. It was the linchpin to this area.

"They live." Dis told him with a small smile. "Apparently my youngest has wed that elf of his."

"Ah, no. An elvish handfasting isn't a marriage." Gandalf countered gently. "It lasts for ten years, unless they have a child or decide to marry or part within that time."

Dwalin cracked a smile finally. "A child." He said leadingly.

For the first time since his arrival, true joy lit the wizard's face from within. Surprise made him grin and even laugh for a moment. "Truly?"

"I am to be a grandmother." Dis said, both pleasure and pain in her voice. "And living in Isengard."

Gandalf's smile dimmed as he watched the dwarven princess. "It is a safe and good place, but I can tell it is not the place that you would want it to be."

Dwalin twisted his mouth a bit, then cocked his head enough to make his neck give a popping sound and he sighed. "Unless we were to disappear enroute."

"Ah." Gandalf nodded sagely. "That would worry Dain. As he feels that the Lady Dis is the last of Durin's Line."

"This bothers you?" The dwarrowdam in question asked pointedly.

"Not really." Admitted the Gray Wizard. "Though I am here to assist him, or really, his wife."

"I wondered." Dwalin admitted. Then he peered over at the wizard who was friend, companion and still a complete mystery. "Will the fact that the king was fully in the midst of Dragon Sickness affect the babe he sired during that time?"

Gandalf sighed and shrugged sadly. "I don't know. I just don't know. Not yet."

Dis snorted unhappily. "A babe that can't be acknowledged because his father is 'dead' and his blood is mixed. A babe that is acknowledged that might be born mad."

"Don't." Dwalin cut her off roughly. "Don't speak ill of the wee babe, not yet. He and his father are still family."

Dis made a face, but nodded.

"So." Gandalf smiled suddenly. "I hear that the two of you have become quite serious of late. I do hope you invite me to the wedding. I love a good dwarrow wedding!"

Dwalin choked on his own tongue for a moment, unable to get a denial out fast enough while Dis simply chuckled.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"That." Arrenis stared at the rough crevice with abject curiosity, "would be impossible to locate."

"You're an elf. I have no doubt you'd be able to find it." Coppernose the Younger said in a muffled voice beneath the thick wrapping around the lower part of his face. His dark eyes blinked in the blackness of the night.

"Locate it, possibly. Navigate it?" Arrenis' voice carried his implication that he would find the task difficult. "And now it looks like a solid wall. That would be your work?" He turned toward the equally as covered Bofur.

The toy-maker grinned beneath his muffler, though no one could see the expression. He held out a tall shield to the dwarrow known as the Younger. "Ye can use the ones for the Elder and for Tauriel." He said, holding out the shields as if they weighed very little.

Erestor took one, feeling the weight of metal with surprise. They looked like they should be heavier than this from the size alone. He tried to look closer, but all he could make out was the white tanned leather wrapped around every inch of the shield. "I don't understand."

The Younger suddenly laughed and brought his arm down heavily, digging the bottom of the shield into the snow as he stepped behind it.

He disappeared.

Erestor and Arrenis shared a look of surprise as they realized that the shields served as snow cover. The dark leathers gave them away in the backdrop of all this snow. The white leathers wrapped around the shields gave them coverage, almost camouflage.

Snow at night was tricky, and this was a brilliant strategy. Arrenis whistled under his breath in respect.

"Mountain tactic." The Younger explained, "better at night than during the day but it still works."

"Come." Bofur said. "Let's go have a look and see, it's cold out here."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili pulled away from the kiss with great reluctance, his left hand cupping her face with his fingers spearing into her collection of braids. His thumb stroked her cheek as she finally opened her eyes to peer up at him, her lips pleasantly swollen.

"I'm still not going to marry you."

The words might have upset him more if she wasn't clinging to him to keep from falling, and there wasn't a delightful smile teasing along her mouth that had so recently been kissing him back quite heatedly.

"You can't deny your king." He whispered.

"You died. Not the king." She whispered back.

"Then you have no reason to deny me. Your whole argument is that you can't marry the king. You can't have it both ways. If I'm the king, then you need to do what I say, if I'm not then there's no problem."

She crossed her eyes at him, drawing a chuckle. "You were born to rule."

Fili shook his head. "I was born in a cabin in the woods on a mountain as far away as you can get. My father was a minor miner, no jokes please. My dam is a princess, my father was nowhere close to her in bloodlines."

Teldu stared up at him, holding her breath a bit. She shook her head. He nipped at her nose, drawing an involuntary squeal from her. He laughed.

"Will the Master Baker assent to marrying an unknown dwarrow of unquantifiable heritage?"

She stared up at him and finally bit her lip and nodded.

Fili sighed and squeezed her tightly. "Now. The bad news."

Teldu put her hands on his chest, pushing back as far as his embrace would allow. She stared up at his eyes in disbelief. "There's more?"

"Dain can't know. Sauron can't know. No one can know. There is prophecy, elvish witches, wizards, and a lot of other garbage but what it comes down to is I am a danger to you."

"I know."

Fili shook her slightly. "I mean it. To you, to any children, to your family, all of it."

"Idiot king. I knew that the moment I realized who you were. Are."

The blond groaned and leaned in, touching his forehead to hers. "Of course you did. You're brilliant and my uncle wouldn't just have loved you, he'd have begged you to join the family."

"He didn't like your original betrothed?" She asked, because well, she couldn't help it. Jealousy wasn't fun, but it wouldn't be denied.

Fili sniffed. "He approved her bloodlines well enough, but found her irritating. Frankly, I don't think he cared one way or the other. It was mam who picked her out."

Teldu heard the fondness in his voice when mentioning his mother and approved. Though she did frown a bit. "And her reaction to me?"

"Are you joking? My mam will love you." He grinned. "You're not an elf after her baby after all."

"Oh you!" Teldu grimaced even she chuckled.

Fili sobered and looked into her eyes as he took a deep breath. "I have only once been in love and I plan on marrying her, if she will have me."

Teldu met his gaze and held it steady with her own, though her voice trembled slightly all of a sudden. "Does he plan to start a war?"

Fili grinned and shook his head. "Do orcs and goblins count?"

"No." The dwarrowdam smiled up at him. "Do you mean to take your rightful place?"

Sobering, Fili could deny her nothing. "I have vowed not to return to Erebor. But that is not my only rightful place."

"Khazad-dum." She whispered the ancient name reverently. "They say that's impossible."

"They said the same of Erebor." Fili countered, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Durin's Bane is there. Some say it died long ago, but Cousin Dain says not. In this, I believe him."

"There was a dragon at Erebor." Teldu pointed out. "Do you have plans?"

Fili shook his head. "Not now, not yet. Maybe not in my lifetime. Certainly not while Sauron is a threat to Erebor. Maybe. I have no definitive plans as yet."

"Even death can't keep you from being you." Teldu whispered up at him.

"Does nothing frighten you?" He asked, marveling.

"Your mam." She teased, partly serious. Then she sobered. "Khazad-dum will need master bakers, once you free it."

Fili growled and stole her lips once more.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

They weren't hard to find. Kili and Bofur were having a difficult time in the heavy snow, using their large shields to essentially plow through the stuff as well as for camouflage.

The elves, to the dwarve's disgust, seemed to walk on the snow rather than in it. Still, they too used the shields to keep themselves from being observed.

Both elves and dwarves had excellent night vision, making quick work of observing their quarry.

Arrenis made a few hand signals that Kili did not understand, though he garnered their meaning without difficulty especially when the elf pointed back the way they'd come. The dark-haired prince nodded, not even feeling the cold anymore, more focused on what they were facing.

Wind and sound were tricky, and no one spoke until they were safely back in the caverns of the Coppernose mine. Which had turned out to be the way out from behind the town walls in the first place.

Erestor watched in open fascination as Bofur resealed the now nearly invisible door. "Wonderous." He murmured.

The toy-maker smiled grimly, but shook his head in denial. "I tinker, but am nothing like the past masters. This door is far too visible for my liking. Hardly hidden at all."

Arrenis shot his fellow elf a telling look with a single raised eyebrow.

Kili caught the look. "What?" He demanded, though not angrily.

The ligher-haired elf shrugged. "What you call too visible, is an amazing thing to us."

"Funny." Kili laughed at the elf in restored good humor. "This is nothing compared to the magic of the elves I've heard in the sagas."

Erestor nodded but shrugged. "Ah, but that magic is beyond us now."

"Us'n too." Bofur finished up with a grin. "The age of magics is waning, so we'n been told. The age of Men will be next, unless Sauron has his way."

"Told?" Arrenis asked curiously.

Kili paused, not wanting to mention their knowledge of and friendship with a certain Gray Wizard.

"Aye. Gandalf." Bofur apparently had no such qualms. Kili resisted the urge to kick him.

"Saw the wizard once, passing through." Kili tried to play it off.

To his credit, Bofur was quick on the uptake. "Aye. Grand tall he was, though taller with that hat he'n wears. Heard him talking about it."

"Good ears you must have." It was an invitation to say more.

Kili ignored Erestor's curiosity, leading the way out of the mine. "I'd say at least 35 of them. Not enough to take the town by force."

"I counted at least 37." The darker-haired elf followed behind him. "And if the gates were opened from the inside, I'd say their chances increased. Especially as they count on a trading village and not well-trained guards."

"Indeed." Bofur grunted. "We need a plan."

Kili grimaced, his mind focused. "Hunt down and imprison those inside the town. Let the others freeze to death. They're running a cold camp without a fire so as not to give us warning. Let it be a VERY cold camp then."

"Let's get started then." Arrenis agreed.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

The Younger Coppernose brother blinked wearily at the sight of their prisoners. Each and every one had protested their innocence. But quick searches of their 'trading' supplies turned out to be weapons, and even poisons.

It was near dawn. Erestor watched the brunet dwarrow peer up at the lightening sky. "So. Will your compatriots think you failed, or that you left them out there to freeze?"

No one answered him.

The dark-eyed dwarf sighed. "You heard that noise about an hour ago? Sounds of fighting? That was my brother and the town guard taking care of your friends."

"Or the other way round." Came one harsh muttering.

The Younger smiled grimly and pointed. The Elder Coppernose brother was walking through the main gates with a group of well-armed guardsmen of both Men and Dwarves. His sword was still unsheathed, and while not dripping with blood, it was hardly clean.

The prisoners all paled, some started cursing while others began calling for mercy.

The Younger Coppernose walked over to Erestor. "Those accents are not from Ered Luin."

"Easterling, if I would have to hazard a guess." The tall elf agreed.

"Slavers? This far north?" The brunet dwarrow shook his head. "And poorly provisioned with mounts. Something is amiss."

Erestor thought so too, but was impressed with the dwarve's discernment. "I agree."

They both watched as Mirrenda's people moved through the prisoners, listening and taking note of anything important. A wave from the Elder, caught the attention of the Younger. "Excuse me a moment."

Erestor nodded, even as Arrenis made his way toward him. The two elves watched the dwarrow brothers as the blond one cleaned his sword and the brunet one spoke about a mile-a-minute, complete with hand gestures.

"Want to guess that he's explaining that it was his wife who told us about the secret passage, and not he?" Arrenis murmured.

"No wager, I'd lose." Erestor returned with a small smile. "The Elder didn't look happy when he found out we'd already been outside the walls."

"No, he didn't." The lighter-haired elf paused. "He fights extremely well. Focused." He'd gone out with the guardsmen to rout the would-be invaders.

Erestor nodded. "I like those shields. Useful in snow to shoot from behind one. The Younger explained how they used them, and how they adapted them for use here."

"Did he explain what they are made from?" Arrenis asked in a leading voice just barely a whisper.

Erestor turned and gave his friend a look, asking without speech.

"Stray arrow hit one, no worries, no one injured. As if a normal arrow could pierce mithril."

Staring at a decidedly smug looking Arrenis, the darker-haired elf shook his head. "Not possible."

"Tore a small strip off the leather. I may not know dwarven toys, but I do know the difference between silver, iron, steel, and mithril. I do know a bit of smithing work, though its been several centuries since I've last worked that precious metal."

Because Moria fell. The only modern source of the metal that resembled silver, but was stronger than steel and lighter than both.

Erestor turned his eyes back to the two brothers. Arrenis did the same. Both were thinking, and neither was coming up with any plausible solutions. Just one of those four shields could have bought this whole town twice over at the very least.

Who were these two?

They played at small town life. But they were well versed in tactics and weapons. They were smart. They were apparently quite wealthy.

And they were hiding.


	38. Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from vacation and trying to find the discipline to write again. Sorry for the delay! It doesn't help having weird computer problems and a laptop that won't stay connected to my wifi. Sigh. And yes, this is exactly why I haven't responded to a lot of comments. I'm in a hate-hate relationship with my computer laptop right now.

Kili slid his gaze surreptitiously to the side, taking in the falsely casual glances heading toward he and his brother. "The elves."

The brunet didn't have to specify anything. Fili grunted in understanding, deliberately looking anywhere except at the elves leading the band of Rangers. "They're smart, they know we hide something."

Kili's lips thinned and he turned to stare into his brother's eyes. "Don't upset her."

Tauriel. Fili grunted again, shaking his head slightly. "She took a big risk, and didn't ask any of us our opinions before she acted."

"It was the right call." The dark-haired dwarf groused protectively. "I'll speak with her."

This time the blond dwarrow gave a grim chuckle as he again shook his head, with more emphasis this time. "You can't talk to her without turning mushy and sweet."

Mobile lips drew up in a snarl, but Kili did not contradict his brother's comment. "Just, don't upset her too much."

Fili reluctantly nodded as he started to move away, still keeping a careful watch on everyone, not just the elves. "Too many people already know."

Reaching out, Kili caught his brother's arm in a hard clasp. "This is not an excuse for you not to tell Teldu!" He hissed.

The blond shook off his sibling's hold, frowning sharply. "She knows."

Dark brown eyes widened with concern, then the younger brother winced. "You told her and she didn't take it well?"

Fili rubbed his mouth and shrugged helplessly. "She guessed, and we're still working through how she's taking it. Tried some nonsense about how she wasn't good enough to marry into our line."

Kili made a disparaging face instantly, making his older brother's features smooth out into a thankful look. "We will work it out." He avowed. "And, it won't be too hard on your wife either."

The dark-eyed prince gave a short nod of gratitude even as some members of the town guard approached the duo to seek orders.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Understood."

The two orcs watched uneasily as the wizard they served just sat there. Staring at the palantir though the suffocating presence on the other side was now gone. With Sauron's Eye was gone from the far-speaking stone both climbed slowly to their feet, cringing and rubbing their hands but no longer cowering on the cold floor. They awaited their orders.

None came.

Both orcs usually fought between themselves, each claiming to be the master's "favorite" and the leader. Yet now, both were giving each other gimlet eyed stares, trying to get the other to speak first.

Tap.

Both orcs froze, ducking in anticipation of some blow or another. Nothing happened. Wide-eyed, they looked toward the White Wizard. He was still staring at the palantir, though the stone was empty of any other presence at the moment.

Tap.

The orcs flinched slightly, then relaxed. The wizard was merely slowly tapping his lengthy fingernail against the table.

"Er …master?" The larger of the two orcs finally interrupted the awkward silence.

Not to be outdone, the second orc cleared his throat and gave a weak grin. "What word, master?"

The first orc jabbed the second with a bony elbow, now that he'd spoken up he didn't want the other male to get any of their leader's attention.

"Our friend to the East does not want the female destroyed, not yet." Saruman's voice spread out through the room without effort, his silken tones lost on the two brutish orcs who were looking confused. "The dwarrowdam." He clarified.

"Oh, right, right!" The second and smaller orc nodded.

"We're supposed to let her go, after we kill the others?" The first asked, looking lost.

"Fool!" Snapped Saruman, gaining his feet in a swirl of fine robes. "We need to send word to those lying in wait to let the group pass by, unmolested!"

"Right! Right!" The small orc bobbed his head comically, looking like a bird. A smelly, ugly, obnoxious, and vicious bird. Right up until the point where his fellow orc reached over and shoved the back of his head down with a snarl. "Hey! Stop that you!"

The larger orc scratched his head in confusion. "But we wants the Line o' Durin dead, right?"

The White Wizard shrugged, as if bored. "The Great Eye knows that she will bear no further fruit. Ending her does nothing for us. Indeed, it draws unwanted attention our way. Letting her live out her days will be a meaningless mercy."

The two orcs shared an uneasy look between them.

"I will cancel out the storm, it will still continue, but not as fiercely as before." Saruman said casually, waving his hand while flicking his fingers in an absently graceful manner. "You two will go and cancel the ambush."

"Maybe you wants to wait to cancel the storm until we is on our way, so we won't be too late." The larger orc bobbed down into a low bow.

"Perhaps you two should scurry as fast as you are able and not let me down!" Barked the irritable wizard suddenly, his smooth countenance breaking into an ugly snarl as he turned on the two servants. "Fail me, and I will use your blood to clean out the garderobes and chamber pots!"

The two orcs literally fell over each other in their haste to leave.

Saruman sighed unhappily, watching their antics as they unentangled themselves and finally took their leave.

The wizard frowned, thoughts rushing around within his mind like ants scattered when their mound is destroyed. That's how he felt.

Saruman had taken the initiative to waylay the Lady Dis on her way to Isengard. Only, Sauron had other plans. It wasn't so much that the wizard disagreed with The Dark Power, but he didn't like his plans and ideas swept aside as if they were nothing. Accounted for …nothing.

The wizard sighed heavily. In the end, what choice did he have? He could not stand against Sauron, which was the whole reason he'd fallen in with the Great Eye in the first place.

Though. Saruman paused, his eyes blank for a moment. Sauron was so sure that King Dain now held onto the position of being the last in the Line of Durin. The portents and omens all claimed the Line was growing, continuing. And now there was word from Gandalf that the Queen was with child. It made sense.

Still. There was a lingering doubt in the back of Saruman's mind. A discordant note.

Gandalf.

Saruman grimaced at the name even spoken only in the silence of his mind. Gandalf was sure that the Line of Durin continued, that was clear in his last missive. That had convinced Sauron. Yet the White Wizard didn't fully trust. Not in Gandalf, whom he'd hated ever since Cirdan had gifted the Gray wizard with an Elven Ring of power. Not he. Gandalf. Always Gandalf. Even that witch Galadriel preferred the Gray One over he himself.

Was it simple jealousy? Saruman straightened his shoulders. Such was beneath him. Besides. With Thorin and his heirs dead and buried, who else was there to carry on the Line except for King Dain?

Putting his swirling and chaotic thoughts behind him, Saruman began his preparations for calming the storm outside. The one inside him continued unabated.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili stayed silent as he looked at the female gracing his private study. He allowed nothing of what he was thinking to cross his facial features, especially not the surprise. Instead he deliberately turned his back to her in order to divest himself of two scabbards, not that this disarmed him but the sword and long dagger would not have made sitting behind his desk comfortable. Though there were several more blades hidden among his clothing and leathers. Not that he didn't trust Tauriel, but simply Fili never went anywhere unarmed.

Tauriel said nothing as well, coolly watching the blond dwarf with her green eyes. She too kept her thoughts to herself.

Fili walked around to the other side of his desk, sinking into his chair and straightening a few items. He finally looked up at the she-elf currently awaiting his attention. Unsure what to say, he pulled a trick out of his Uncle Thorin's book. He simply leaned back, steepled his fingers together and deliberately raised a single eyebrow. Something that had always worked on HIM as a dwarfling when faced with his uncle.

Apparently it actually worked on elves. At least in this instance.

"I thought you might have something to say to me." Tauriel said evenly, her vocal tone giving nothing away.

"Something not to be said in front of your husband?" The blond guessed, with a speaking glance toward the closed study door.

The red-head nodded slowly, not lowering her eyes. Fili admired her silently for a moment, seeing the strength and will behind the grace. She wasn't beautiful to him, not on a base level. But he could appreciate that Tauriel was beautiful in the abstract and he knew his brother found her to be nothing less than gorgeous. Like any good dwarf, he could appreciate fine craftsmanship. Fili blinked slowly, a small smile toying with the edges of his lips. "Did you think I was going to yell, is that why you sought me out in private?"

"I was the one who told the elves about the hidden passage out of Brookshire." Tauriel said without a hint of deference.

"I know." Fili nodded at her. "I might have done the same. Eventually. Perhaps."

Tauriel tilted her head slightly at him, the long length of her silken hair falling forward though not hiding her face. "It should have been your decision."

The blond prince-in-exile nodded, pursing his lips slightly. "True."

"Are you not yelling at me because I am pregnant? Or that it would upset Kili?" The red-head asked rather bluntly.

Fili snorted very lightly, shaking his head as he deflected the question. "Are you feeling any guilt?"

Tauriel drew back a little, her eyes widening a bit. She considered the question for a moment, then shook her head. "I think not. But while I stand behind my decision, I recognize that I crossed a boundary."

Fili leaned forward, his blue eyes intense as he suddenly stared at his brother's wife. "Why?"

She did not pretend to misunderstand. And though she did not answer immediately, her left hand moved involuntarily toward the beginning curve of her belly. As if realizing the movement was telling, Tauriel quickly dropped her hand back down. She lifted her chin, almost in defiance. "You can yell."

"It would change nothing." Fili admitted, then sighed. He really hadn't felt like yelling at the elf in the first place. What she had done wasn't in any effort to harm the dwarves, and he was well aware. "Instead, all I want from you is for you to consider …why did you do it? What made you decide that these strange elves we've only just met are more worthy of your trust than I am?"

No amount of yelling could have had the same impact as that ultra-serious question. Tauriel's jewel bright gaze actually dropped, and the breath she drew was less than calm.

"Do you miss the Mirkwood so much?" Fili asked almost gently.

Her response was an immediate shake of her head. She raised her eyes back up to meet his gaze. "No."

"You are the only elf living in Brookshire." Fili pointed out the obvious truth aloud. "For a dwarf living alone like that? It would be torture."

"Not for an elf." Tauriel replied, then hesitated, looking unsure in a way Fili had not seen from her before. "I would not have thought so."

Fili fell quiet, letting her puzzle through her thoughts in her own time. He watched as the red-head finally took a deep breath, as if to steady herself. She looked at him and nodded almost regally.

"Worked it out?" Fili asked her.

Tauriel shook her head. "Not entirely. But I do trust you."

That last line caught his breath in something akin to wonder. It pulled a surprised laugh from him as he shrugged at her. "Good. Next time, don't trust the lives of me, Bofur and my brother whom I do know you love as well as your unborn child to strangers without at least checking with me first? Yes?"

Tauriel stared at him for a moment, holding her breath for several seconds before nodding. "You are distressingly direct. I think I would have preferred you just yelling at me.

"Just for your personal awareness." Fili gave her a quick look with a grin. "I didn't yell at you because not only are you pregnant with my brother-son, but I would then have had to contend with everyone who would have skinned me alive for distressing you at this time."

Tauriel dipped her head, a smile in her eyes if not yet on her lips. "Kili."

Fili snorted in derision. "Kili, Bofur, Mirrenda, Erestor, Arrenis, Dern, Nurbera, Cleadeth and Teldu would have my head on a platter. That's just the immediate list. We can add to that every one of the young Men you've been training with me, all the merchants who fall all over themselves to tempt you with wares, the elder dwarrowdams …" Suddenly the blond gave a huge mock-shudder. "Oh what the dwarrowdams would have said to me would have made torture look easy."

The red-head actually laughed at the faked fear in his voice.

"Uldane would have smashed my head in for even raising my voice at you, much less yelling."

Tauriel paused, both of her eyebrows arching up over her jewel-bright eyes. "The blacksmith you work with?"

"He has a soft spot in his stout heart just for you." Fili waggled his own eyebrows at her as he picked up a quill and started sharpening the tip.

"You jest." The she-elf looked unsure, as if what the blond was telling her might be a joke, or it might not.

Fili shrugged and didn't tell her that no, he wasn't lying. The hulking smithy definitely perked up whenever Tauriel came around to the blacksmith's work area. Though the dwarf judged the human to be harmless in his feelings. Unlike one of the local barkeeps. That human's oily gaze followed Tauriel's form wherever she went. Fili knew his brother was keeping a close eye on that one, to be sure.

"Tauriel, I am not angry with you. Just, be careful what you choose to share with others. The fewer that know, or have any of the puzzle pieces from which to guess, the better and safer we all are."

"Is that why you haven't told Teldu? I thought you trusted her?"

Fili sighed heavily, slumping back in his chair. "She guessed." He tossed the writing quill back upon his desk.

Tauriel brightened immediately. "I knew she was clever!"

Fili growled low in his throat. "Not that I mind Teldu, but if she can put the pieces together, so can others."

"Like Erestor and Arrenis." Tauriel nodded slowly, her excitement dimming a bit. "I see your thoughts on this."

"They too are clever. And not our friends. Just because they're elves doesn't mean that they are our allies." Fili paused for a telling moment. "I know they're honorable, and they fight against Mordor, which is no small thing."

"But Mordor wants you, us, dead." Tauriel said with finality, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. Slowly, her eyelids blinked down over her green eyes as she took a deep breath. "Should we leave Brookshire?"

"Not now, not in winter." Fili said cautiously.

The she-elf's hands went protectively to her belly. "My fault again."

The blond stood, circling around his desk as he took his sister-in-law's rather chilled hand in his own. "In this I count my brother at fault." He tried for a joking tone, but his efforts fell short.

Tauriel shook her head at him. "I can travel." She avowed.

"No." Fili denied her offer outright. "Taking off in winter and in secret? Sure ways to call attention to ourselves. No. We stay here. We just have to be more cautious. Mister Dwalin will be here as soon as he is able. Besides, we might be overthinking what Erestor and Arrenis might or might not have guessed. They're of Rivendell. What do they know of Erebor or her heirs?"

The red head nodded, her eyes grateful, and her hand warming in his grip. Fili smiled at her gently. "We can send word to your family. Those elves I would be willing to trust."

Tauriel's eyes widened and she actually laughed. "My cousin and I don't get along well. My brother, well, I would trust him but I have not seen him in over a hundred years. He lives much deeper in the woods than Thranduil's palace."

"Is there anyone, any family or friend, that you would want to know of your whereabouts?"

Tauriel eyed her husband's brother, letting a soft smile touch her lips. After all his talk of safety and keeping their secret, he was offering to expand their circle in order to allow her to feel less alone. "I have my family with me." She said, her voice firming with every word.

Fili looked unsure, so the red-head smiled wider. "Son, husband, brother, uncle, sister-in-law, friends …"

"Uncle?" The blond laughed suddenly with surprise.

"Would Bofur prefer cousin?" Tauriel asked teasingly.

The dwarrow shook his head, his smile making his mustache beads move slightly. "Not actually blood related."

Sobering, the she-elf still smiled even with a touch of sadness. "I think we have shed enough blood together that that no longer matters. In the Mirkwood, we used to say families are born, then later forged."

Fili blinked rapidly three times in a row, then gave a rough chuckle. "Blood lines are incredibly important to Dwarves, but I do understand the meaning of your elvish saying. The word in Khuzdul that you are seeking is barful."

"Barful?"

"It means familiar, family-like." Fili smiled widely. "As in a dwarrow so close to you that they become family without actually being blood related. And before you ask, you are not barful."

Tauriel stared at him a moment, reading his rather open expression. She smiled back at him.

"Sister."

She squeezed his hand, grateful.

Fili leaned in close. "And age differences be damned, I'm still head of this family and you need to clear things with me first. Like telling outsiders our secrets."

Tauriel nodded, knowing intuitively that he included her when he used the word 'our'.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Arrenis sat on the edge of the bed, one boot off and one in his hands. Idly he brushed his fingers over the leather that was aging quickly with rough use. "This used to be so fine that it felt soft as butter."

Erestor glanced around even as he settled the blankets on the travel cot the Coppernose brothers had provided. It wasn't much, but with the inns rather full and the council chambers being used as a quickly converted prison for their would-be invaders, it was pretty decent. "What is on your mind?" He asked, knowing that his friend was just as tired as he was and the state of his boots was not something to keep awake worrying over.

"Who are they?" Arrenis asked bluntly, removing the second boot.

"We are in their home." Erestor replied.

"Doesn't answer the question."

"Does it not?" Erestor turned, quirking up one eyebrow. "We are trusting ourselves to them, in their home, as their guests. I assume that you, such as I, would not do so unless we felt safe doing so."

"Tauriel knows who they are." Arrenis replied, stating his guess as if it were fact.

Erestor pushed one long strand of his dark hair behind his ear. "I feel the same, she does know."

"She told us of the way outside the walls." His companion pointed out.

"No." Erestor shook his head. "I do not feel she is willing to share all their secrets with us."

Arrenis nodded in agreement. "Wood Elves are ever secretive." He said quietly. "What do we know?"

"The brothers are …"

"Are they brothers?" Arrenis interrupted. "Or just call themselves such? Is the relationship of blood?"

Surprised and taking the question into consideration, Erestor began again. "Two dwarrow, possibly brothers, one married to a she-elf of the Mirkwood." He held up a hand to forestall his friend's next interruption. "Her accent is clearly of the Greatwood."

Arrenis gave a tight nod to continue.

Erestor turned and sat on the travel cot, divesting himself of his own boots as he thought aloud. "Well versed in battle strategy and weapon training."

"Wealthy." Arrenis added, thinking of the mithral shields hidden beneath thick wrappings of white leather.

"Hiding." Erestor made a slight face of confusion and shook his head. "Why?"

"Because of the Younger's marriage?" Guessed Arrenis. "Perhaps his family is not keen on the idea of a wedding with an elf-lass?"

The darker haired elf nodded sagely. "They did say they sought privacy and safety. Though I cannot help but feel there is more to all of this."

"I too." Arrenis agreed, but then went on to add another thought. "I do not feel they are in line with Mordor."

Erestor thought about it a moment, nodding as he did so. "I still think it would be wrong to repay them by sending word to Lord Elrond. I believe we should inform him in person upon our return to Imladris."

"Messages have a sour way of going astray, especially now that Mordor is up and active once more." Arrenis shrugged thoughtfully. "I sense no immediate threat to or from the Coppernose brothers. I do not think this an immediate issue."

"Nor I." Erestor agreed, continuing to get ready and rest for the night.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Generally speaking, dwarves did not get overheated easily. They were built to withstand the temperatures of forges after all, excluding dragon fire. Thus sleeping attire was a matter of personal choice. In the summer months linen and cotton were the norm, and in the winter they turned to woolens.

All of that had changed for Kili of Durin's Line from the moment he'd become hand-fasted, and later, married.

What it came down to was the fact that Tauriel loved to wend her fingers through her husband's chest hair. And it turned out, Kili loved to be petted.

The duo had gradually moved from their normal sleeping attire to less and less clothing as it became obvious they loved the skin to skin contact, even when simply sleeping next to each other.

So it surprised Kili when he slipped into his already wife-warmed bed and leaned over to give her a goodnight kiss, to find his hand on cloth, not skin.

"Cold?" He murmured, knowing her pregnancy would sometimes make her feel the weather more than she normally might.

Tauriel murmured something incoherent and turned her head into her pillow, away from him.

Kili frowned, rubbing her shoulder and forearm a bit more vigorously. "I can grab an extra blanket." He offered.

Red hair moved side to side as his she-elf shook her head negatively.

"Are you feeling alright?" The concerned brunet asked, pulling slightly on her shoulder. She resisted. "Tauriel? Love?"

"Sleepy." Came the snappish response.

Dark eyes widened as Kili recalled how Nurbera had warned him of swift mood changes in pregnant females. Though he'd not seen too much of that with Tauriel. Suddenly his brows furrowed. "Did Fili upset you?"

"No."

Kili waited, but she said nothing further. He bit back a foul oath, not sure what to say or do next. He didn't want to upset her, but he didn't want to seem uncaring. He reached over and trailed the back of his hand over her soft cheek, though he couldn't see her expression with her back toward him. He wanted to see if she was feverish.

"Stop that!" Tauriel swatted at his hand.

But she was too late. Kili pulled her over onto her back, staring. "You've been crying!" He looked both shocked and horrified.

"It's nothing." The she-elf sighed, glaring at him from her position on her back.

Looming over his wife, Kili's expression darkened with sharp anger. "He said he wouldn't upset you!"

Tauriel sat up as her husband leapt out of bed, grabbing his trousers as he headed out the door shirtless. "Kili! Don't!"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I'm off to bed …again." Bofur yawned. "Last time I was interrupted."

Ignoring the chiding grump, Fili grinned. "Did I tell you, Tauriel basically named you 'uncle' today."

The hatted dwarf chuckled, then shook his head. "Not related."

"Barful." Fili said pointedly, surprising the older dwarrow.

Bofur couldn't keep the smile from his face from growing. He bobbed his head, pleased.

"I'll let you find your bed and …." Fili and Bofur both stilled as they heard stomping noises heading their way. Both started to stand.

Kili threw open the door, glaring around the room until his gaze settled on his older brother. He pointed viciously at the blond. "You said you wouldn't upset her!"

Fili's jaw dropped open at the implied accusation. "And I did not!"

"She cried!"

The blond looked stunned as he spread his hands. "Not in here, not with me."

Kili continued to glare at his brother, but knew him well enough to realize Fili was telling the truth. "Then what?" He demanded.

"Then I got pregnant." Tauriel said from the doorway, tying a robe on about herself. Her face was a bit splotchy and her eyes were slightly reddened. "Kili, I said, nothing's wrong."

The put-upon husband stared at her as if unsure whether or not to take her words at face value. "You cried. You never cry."

"I cried when I thought you dead, after the battle."

Fili and Kili both startled a bit. Bofur nodded, pointing at himself and then to the she-elf. "She did. Saw it myself."

The dark-haired husband shifted his weight from side to side. "Oh." He didn't quite know how to respond.

"I've cried once or twice since becoming pregnant. The dwarrowdams assure me it is normal."

"That can't be right." Fili said, sounding unsure.

Bofur scratched his chin and shrugged. "Bombur's wife cried buckets with at least two of her babes. With the third one though she turned sweeter than honey, scary it was."

"I'm really fine." Tauriel held her hand out to Kili. "I just didn't want you to see me cry."

The young husband took her hand, tugging her closer. "I wouldn't have you crying all by yourself." He reached up to cup the side of her face, tracing the line of her cheek with his thumb in a gentle caress.

"Lad, sometimes a female likes crying alone." Bofur shrugged as if to say it was all a mystery to him.

"What were you crying about?" Kili asked, his temper having completely fled.

"No." Tauriel shook her head, flushing slightly. "It's silly."

"Love?"

The red-head shook her head. "I will not tell you, it's silly and embarrassing and complete nonsense. I just cried, can we not leave it at that?" She was starting to sound a bit like she was finding the temper that Kili had just let go of.

The dwarven male wasn't stupid. "That's fine. Cry or don't cry, just, don't forget I'm here for you."

Bofur bit back a laugh. "Lad, fine offer. Just don't complain when she remembers it especially when the babe wakes up at two in the morn wanting to be fed."

"It's past that now." Kili shrugged. "And I'm used to being awakened for watch shifts."

Tauriel started to smile at him when they all heard a knock at their front door.

Kili shot a look at Fili, who grimaced. "What now? Like you said, it's past two in the morning. Which means there's a problem." He gathered his sword and long dagger as he headed toward the door.

Tauriel let go of her husband's hand, silently telling him to back up his brother. Not that Kili needed the permission nor reminder, he was already moving and made a noise at Fili, who tossed the sword back toward him. Kili caught it easily.

Tauriel glanced at Bofur, who had his arms crossed and was rocking back and forth on his heels. He was obviously staying put in order to protect her.

Bofur started cursing as he simply blinked and the elf was half-way out the door, leaving him to try and catch up. He followed her towards the voices at the door, only relaxing as he noted there were no sounds of anger nor fighting. He nearly slid to a halt next to Tauriel, who was on the receiving end of a chiding glance from both Fili and Kili.

"Deven." Bofur greeted the young guardsman who was looking embarrassed. "Problems with the prisoners?"

Fili growled and shook his head. "Deven was just explaining that the Easterlings already had a few hostages, probably to sell off to slavers or sell back to their families …depending on who could pay more."

Bofur nodded. "Makes sense."

"I asked the guardsmen to question everyone thoroughly, to make sure none of the Easterlings were posing as prisoners to avoid our wrath." Fili continued.

Deven nodded eagerly, looking worried. "Couple of dwarves. Figured we'd start there. Three of 'em."

Bofur glanced at Fili's closed off expression, getting a bad feeling about this. "Dwarves?"

"Seems they were making their way here, when they got captured." Deven continued, explaining in a rush of words. "Said they were on their way to Brookshire."

"Hamnar's cousin." Fili said slowly, with deliberate weight. "Our cousins, actually."

"Only he says his cousin had no sons." Deven blushed, looking down at the ground. "Insists on it, but then he's a prisoner, and he'd say anything, right?"

"And you believe him?" Bofur asked, trying to mask his shock and worry.

"Doesn't matter." Fili interrupted. "He's made the claim, and I want to see this cousin of mine. Lead on, Deven."

The young guardsman blushed again, dipping his head in apology.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I'm sure you're mistaken." Mirrenda said, her fingers unraveling a loose thread on her sleeve in agitation. "Coppernose the Elder will straighten all of this out."

Ingvar Coppernose glared at the human woman with all the dignity he could muster. "Hamnar had no sons! None! Whomever you have here claiming to be blood is an imposter! I would so swear!"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	39. Vindication

Lord Elrond hesitated at the entrance to the verandah, not wanting to intrude. His eyes left the silent figure standing there, to look out at the waning winter storm laid out before them both.

"Unnatural." The other elf commented in a voice that showed he did not usually speak much.

The tall elf lord nodding, even though his companion still had his back to him. "It abates now, which makes me wonder to what purpose was the storm in the first place."

"A dark purpose." The response was short, as usual. Glorfindel, the ancient hero of Gondolin was not one to mince words and spread them out before him like a cloak.

Elrond watched as the golden haired hero of old turned slowly, the lights of the torches casting shadows upon his face. Putting the long jagged scar on the left side of his face in sharp relief. It had faded over the millennia, but alongside the perfection of his race, it was a shock to see. Every time.

Since Glorfindel's return from, well, death …he had been a mystery. Several thousands of years had passed, kingdoms had risen and fallen and yet the warrior had not ever spoken on why he'd been granted a return. Except once.

"Come." Elrond held one arm out, the voluminous sleeve of his robe giving the movement a muted silken grace. The torchlight catching the metallic gleam from the silver threads in the fine embroidery.

As Glorfindel passed him, Elrond caught the scent of oils, hinting that the warrior had been tending his blades earlier. Also the faint aroma from the fine pipe tobacco the warrior enjoyed so much. Elrond's eyes followed the golden-haired hero, whom despite several millennia, he did not know very well. When Glorfindel was next to him, for perhaps but a second or more, his scar was right in Elrond's line of sight.

The returned elf had never spoken on it, never answered a question about it. Eventually the curious had fallen away, or had at least turned quiet. Had the Valar gifted Glorfindel with a new body, or repaired his original? Was the scar from that long ago battle with either the dragon, which he'd defeated, or from the battle with the balrog, in which they'd mutually died? Would the Valar not erase the mark, to return the golden-haired hero to perfection? Could they not? Or had Glorfindel demanded to keep the flaw as something of a reminder?

Suddenly Glorfindel's head turned and he looked pointedly back at Lord Elrond, catching the worthy leader by surprise. "Coming?"

"Indeed." Elrond said blandly, following with a sweep of his elegant robes.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel watched, her green eyes anxious, as both Fili and Kili finished dressing. They'd both hurried into their outer leathers again and were now throwing on the thick protective cloaks. It was nearing three past midnight and it was bitter cold outside, though the snow did seem to be falling easier. Less thickly. Still, the accumulation was deep. Especially for Dwarves. "This would be too deep for Bilbo to have navigated." She voiced the random thought aloud for no reason whatsoever beyond nerves. The red-head bit her bottom lip, she should have said nothing.

Bofur glanced up though, actually startled into a rough chuckle. "Ah, our dear hobbit!"

Kili beamed without reserve, his whole face lighting up. "Think he's curled up in that soft chair of his, fire going and smoking his pipe?"

Fili's lips twitched as he fastened the clasp on his cloak, running his hands absently over several of his daggers making sure they were secure and in place. "At this time? He'd be snuggled up in his bed, book face down on the covers next to him. Pantry full, dishes washed and in order and all those lacy little things laundered and folded."

"Ironed!" Bofur added with a wink and a shaking forefinger, smiling most fondly.

Deven, the young human guardsman looked confused. He smiled half-way, clearly wanting in on what was funny. "What's a hobbit?"

Fili's partially formed smile vanished and he shrugged his shoulders to settle his cloak properly. "A friend." He said vaguely. "Now, let's move along."

Tauriel's hand moved without forethought, catching Kili as he turned to follow. He stopped, his dark eyes looking up into her gaze. She said nothing. Not with Deven standing there.

Kili smiled, though not entirely with his usual ease. He reached up and patted her hand on his shoulder. "Go to bed love, you've had no sleep."

Green eyes focused intensely on him, and the elvish wife nodded slowly. "I can prepare for the day ahead." She said tellingly. Offering to get the household ready to leave in a hurry.

Fili shook his head solemnly, listening in unabashedly. "No need. What you need is rest. We'll be back along later, after we settle this."

"I was thinking of doing some baking." She said blandly, no expression on her face. "Fresh bread."

The blond shook his head immediately. "No need. Please rest. If need be, we'll call at the bakery later in the morning and bring something home."

Tauriel nodded, knowing what the blond actually meant. Fili was telling her not to pack up, not yet. And not to notify Teldu or her family. "If you're sure."

Kili smiled and lifted his wife's hand from his shoulder with both of his, bringing it to his lips for a swift kiss. "Love, rest. Please."

Deven suddenly grinned. "My mother, when she was ready to have my little sister? She started cleaning the house at all hours. Dad called it nesting. She didn't bake though she put up lots of pickles, took forever to eat through them all."

Bofur smiled at the lad. "Nesting? Not a bad term, I'll have to remember that."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"It's a late hour." Saruman twitched his pristine white robes into place as he sat at the table, gesturing with ill grace for a goblet of wine.

"Or an early one, depending on which day you look at it through. Yesterday or today." This droll response came from Lord Elrond as he too took a seat at the exquisitely crafted table.

"No. It's late. Very late." Glorfindel didn't bother with a chair, perching himself on the railing with the night view of Imladris laid out behind him. "Very nearly too late."

Saruman turned his head to stare at the golden-haired elf warrior. "Meaning?"

Glorfindel quirked one eyebrow up, then peered around the collected council members. Elrond, Saruman, Celeborn and Galadriel. "We are missing several."

"Radagast? Who knows where he wanders these days? And Cirdan sent word he could not attend." The White Wizard said dismissively.

"Gandalf." This name was spoken in the round tones of the sole Lady in their midst. Her voice dripping with meaning and power.

Saruman barely kept himself from gritting his teeth at the mention of the Gray one. "Yes. He is off doing business with the dwarves." He couldn't quite keep the small sneer off of his face.

Celeborn nodded his head toward Glorfindel. "You are vindicated." He lifted his own wine in a gesture of respect.

"I told you why I returned."

"Once." The wizard shook his head, looking cross. "You said you came back to fight the darkness."

Glorfindel considered those words, then rejected them. "I said I came back to fight THE darkness. Sauron."

"And we said he was gone." Elrond closed his eyes as if in pain. "We were wrong. Did you know he was back? All that time ago when you returned, did you know he was rebuilding his strength?"

The golden-haired warrior shrugged almost negligently, though his hand went to the pommel of his sword in a caressing manner. "No."

"At the time of your return, when we asked, you said you had no doubts that Sauron was defeated." Celeborn asked, curious.

"No. I had no doubts." The Hero of Gondolin responded once again. "I only knew the darkness would return, though not how, when or where. And it would be him. That was the reason for my return."

The elf lord of Lothlorien nodded slowly. "And thus you are vindicated."

"How stand the old alliances?" Glorfindel wasted no time in dwelling on how right he had been all those years previously when none had given credit to his words.

Lord Elrond sent the other elf a look of gratitude. "Gondor and Rohan are weakened. The Dunedain are scattered and leaderless. Erebor has been restored, but is in the nascent stages of rebuilding. Moria is lost to us, of course, while the other Dwarven families are diminished and distant. None but Dain even responded to our warnings."

"However, Thranduil is awakened at last." Celeborn commented, taking a sip from the fine vintage in his goblet. "He has actually reached out to Lothlorien for information and reassurances of mutual assistance, something that hasn't happened since his father's passing."

"Dale is rebuilding, but as yet is not capable of much, barely even self-sustenance." Elrond continued. "Though they are managing better than might be expected."

Glorfindel frowned at all the information. "Is the entirety of the Rhovanion lost to us then? Thranduil's wood elves cannot stand against Mordor without assistance. Lothlorien cannot be stripped bare of warriors to protect the Mirkwood, leaving other places unsecured. Nor can they protect both Dale and Erebor against Mordor, not alone."

Saruman spoke up, knowing he was giving the White Council no information than what they already knew. "Sauron believes the Rhovanion will fall into his hands at his whim. I suspect he does not move now as he is not ready for a full conflict with us, especially Lothlorien. He waits until we are committed elsewhere, then he will take Erebor, Dale and the Mirkwood with the least effort."

"I believe there is another reason that he waits." Elrond said cautiously, uneasily bringing up something which worried them all.

"Because he has not the One Ring." Galadriel intoned in that spooky voice of hers.

"Neither do we." Celeborn added after a moment of silent contemplation, looking grimly somber.

"Gandalf told us that he sought to oust Smaug from the Lonely Mountain to keep the creature from becoming our Old Enemy's pet guardian and destroyer." Lord Elrond sighed. "To my immense discredit, I did not think that to be the case. I argued against the Dwarven king from trying to restore his throne. Now the dragoon is dead and plays no more menace, but …the Line of Durin is broken."

"While Durin's Line holds strong and prospers, the woods and dales will stand against travail. Fires will rage and blood will spill, but the blood of Stone will still prevail." Galadriel said in a sing-song voice, drawing shivers from all who listened. Excepting her husband.

"Durin's Line was broken. Erebor was regained, but that bloodline is no more." Saruman said with all the sorrow he could fake. He'd absolutely detested Thorin I, and all his descendants down through to he who would have been Thorin III. If he'd lived.

"Dain lives. His wife is breeding." Elrond interjected almost tentatively. "Gandalf has sent me messages. The child was conceived while the father was in the throes of Dragon Sickness. None know what this will mean."

Galadriel smiled beatifically. "The babe will be proof against that sickness, or anyone or anything else that would seek to control his mind."

All turned to face the Lady of Light with varying degrees of shock, surprise, and consternation. Her smile widened. "I have seen it, precluding any dire events, it is highly probable." She offered by way of explanation.

"Most excellent news." Elrond breathed out a sigh, shaking his head in wonder as some tension left his shoulders. "I can share this news with Gandalf and King Dain?"

Galadriel dipped her head regally in agreement.

"And this child will continue the Line of Durin?" Lord Elrond questioned further.

The Lady raised her eyes, multiple points of lights reflecting forth, as if containing starlight itself. Elrond held his breath. She was touching the inner Light of the Eldar, in the hands of magic itself. "The Line, continues. Though hidden, away from sight."

Saruman froze, his eyes unable to look away from the Lady.

"Durin's direct bloodline lives." Galadriel spoke with great import. "This is news that MUST not reach Sauron."

Celeborn protested immediately, his expression showing his surprise. "You did not tell even me?"

"Few know. Very few." Galadriel continued, moving her starlit gaze from one male to the other. Pinning them with the weight of how important this information truly might be.

Saruman had to fight hard not to flinch as her gaze met his own before moving on. Inwardly, he was furious. The dwarven line lived? Dis. Sauron considered her too old to bear more children. But she was the only one left. And he'd just given orders to let her live! Leaving him stuck here, unable to send word to destroy the dwarrowdam afterall. Or was there another? A bastard line perhaps? Then again, even if Dis did not perish in ambush, her ultimate destination was Isengard. The wizard seethed in quiet, his thoughts in turmoil even as new plans began to form.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Ingvar Coppernose." Mirrenda sighed, shaking her head. "That's the name he is giving. "Claims his cousin Hamnar had no children, and he is demanding all sorts of things."

"Like Hamnar's property and mine?" Fili sounded far more amused than he was feeling. Looking bored, he yawned. "Cousin is a correct term."

"But the reality?" Kili smiled grimly. "His great-grandfather and Hamnar's great-grandfather were brothers."

Fili nodded, pleased that Dern had grilled them continually over Hamnar's bloodlines when they'd first decided to take the name.

Mirrenda looked stunned. "That's barely a connection!"

"To a Human, perhaps." Kili allowed graciously. He wafted his hand back and forth in a half-in-half manner. "He is cousin, though we've never met. Obviously he wasn't close to our …father."

Fili stiffened slightly over the hesitation in his sibling's voice when claiming Hamnar Coppernose as their father. Relaxing only when Mirrenda appeared to take no notice. "What of the other two dwarves that Deven mentioned?"

The human leader of Brookshire smiled wearily. She was older, for a human, and it had been a long day. Starting with the Yule Celebration and moving on into an attempt to raze and pillage the town. "Business associates of this Ingvar's, at least one is. The other doesn't say much, only stating he was sent here for a business opportunity. But won't specify."

"Our race is more than a little reticent." Fili said with good humor. Things were looking a bit more manageable at the moment. Now it just remained to be seen how much of an obstacle this Ingvar might prove himself to be.

They waited, exchanging the chit-chat of neighbors involved in their community while the guardsmen brought in the first dwarf. Finally, Ingvar was fairly pushed inside. He was far from an impressive sight.

Fili eyed the new male with avid interest, his arms crossed over his chest. Ingvar Coppernose was old, with no hint of whatever color his hair might have been in youth. Now it was solid silver-gray, his braids littered with beads of wood and bone. Which did not mark him as prosperous.

Kili hissed suddenly, drawing his brother's attention. Two more dwarves had been escorted inside. The only problem? The brothers knew them both.

Recognition and shock had one of the new dwarves dropping his jaw in wonder. The other looked puzzled at first, glancing back and forth between Kili and then Fili. Like a dropped brick, they could see the inevitable coming but were unable to stop the impact. Dark eyes widened in dawning realization, joy writ large in the sudden grin which disappeared once more in confusion.

Fili sighed. This whole meeting had just become much easier in one regard, and much harder in another.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Elrond offered a glass of wine to the Lady, now that they were finally alone.

Galadriel shook her head at her host. "My daughter-sons prosper?" She asked instead.

"Very much so." Elrond responded, speaking of his twin sons. "They are in the North, training Rangers. My daughter?"

"Arwen thrives and is a joy to both Celeborn and I." The Lady nodded graciously. "It would delight her heart to see you again."

Lord Elrond smiled, thinking of his lovely child. "She learns much from you and will return to Imladris very soon." He paused, wondering if he should ask what was on his mind. Finally, he simply spoke. "You did not share all with the council. There is more, is there not?"

Galadriel gave a soft chuckle. "You married my daughter, yet you read me so well?"

The tall elf lord felt the familiar ache in his heart as he looked upon the image of his beloved Celebrian within his memories. She had sailed West many years prior, though she'd been freed from the orcs who'd captured her. "Your daughter knew you well, she shared only some of that with me."

"Ah." The Lady nodded sagely, lapsing into a companionable silence. He waited her out. Gently amused, Galadriel finally gave a small dip of her head in his direction before she spoke. "Thorin's heirs survived that last battle."

Elrond nearly swallowed his tongue as his eyes widened near large enough to rival the moon. Roughly he cleared his throat. "You had me thinking of the Lady Dis perhaps conceiving, or an illegitimate line."

"Yes."

The elf lord stilled, considering. Had the Lady of Light deliberately led the White Council into making wrong assumptions? "You don't trust the council itself?" It was a harrowing thought.

"Sauron is back. How is that possible without hint or knowledge?" Galadriel said darkly. "I trust all in that room. Yet. Yet."

Elrond sighed, knowing how high the stakes were in this particular battle. He froze suddenly, his mind making the necessary connections. "Gandalf. He knows."

Lady Galadriel sent him an amused look from the corner of her eyes.

Elrond closed his eyes. "Thranduial as well." He considered how it had to have happened. He blew out an exasperated breath, shaking his head in wonder. "How did you get the Dwarven heirs to walk away from the throne and crown? Their people? Treasure? Does Dain know?"

"So many questions." The golden lady smiled at him teasingly. "Dain does not know. He was a danger to them at the time."

"At the time." Elrond repeated the phrase, giving it much weight. "Understood."

"He might still be, though Gandalf does not believe so." Galadriel said, her voice softening on the Gray Wizard's name.

Silence fell once more between them, until Elrond turned to face her once again. "Will they not seek to take Dain's throne back?"

Galadriel just looked at him without expression.

She did not know. Elrond nodded, more to himself than for her benefit. "If they do, would you try and stop them?"

The Lady continued to simply look at him, but this time she did answer, though not in a manner that the elf lord would have expected. "We owe them a kingdom, or at the least not to interfere."

"We?"

Galadriel did not smile. "Gandalf and I asked them to walk away from all they knew, all they had, their very selves. To save Arda. They were sore wounded, in body and in spirit. They did not like it, and they did not want it. We asked them to die, before the world. It is a far harsher fate than it sounds."

Elrond mulled over her words, again letting the silence fill the space between them. He finally cleared his throat lightly and repeated the original question. "I see where their 'dying' benefits our preparations to fight Sauron and the forces of Mordor. The Dark One thinks the Line is broken, thus turns his attentions away from Erebor."

Galadriel blinked very slowly, yet her expression remained unchanged.

"I still must know, however, would you help them to overthrow Dain?" When she said nothing Elrond continued. "They are as nothing to you, not on a personal level. Many have sacrificed much in order to stand against Mordor and it's Master. These are but two more. Why do you take such an interest in these heirs of Erebor?"

Galadriel turned fully toward him, tilting her head slightly as she gave him an enigmatic half-smile. "Do you find me so cold and uncaring?"

He answered with silence.

She smiled, rather than look hurt or outraged. "I looked within and found treasure."

"Within Erebor? Well, of course there was treasure. That's what attracted Smaug in the first place." Elrond scoffed slightly, then realized he was on the wrong tack. When he looked back up, Galadriel was walking away from him. Ending their conversation. He sighed heavily. He'd get no more answers this night. He knew that the treasure she'd spoken of could not be the hoard of gold and mithral, so what had she really meant? What treasure?

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I just wanted the Coppernose traveler, not all three dwarves, not all at once." Mirrenda scolded the guardsmen while each of the dwarves remained silent all for their own personal reasons.

"Oh, uhm, well but …" The guardsmen gestured rather aimlessly, trying to explain how one of the dwarves had 'explained' things in a manner that had led them to bringing them along as well.

Fili was grateful the human's attention was elsewhere. It gave all the dwarves a chance to school their shock into bland masks of indifference. Barely.

Nerkek broke the barrier, a thick Ered Luin accent clear in his speech as he sketched a bow that was too deep, too respectful, for one dwarf to another. His usually clear eyes were wet, though no tears fell, not yet. "I am beyond gratified to see you two again." There was an unspoken question in his voice though.

Kili hesitated, licking his lips, unsure what to say although this older dwarf had once hosted he and his brother at his fires near every night during a particularly long trading route they'd been guarding.

"Coppernose the Elder." Fili said with great deliberateness, putting his hand on his chest, then hitched his head toward his brother. "Coppernose the Younger."

The older merchant wasn't stupid, he nodded immediately. He did not have to know what was going on, not yet. Not while there were Humans about. Outsiders.

"They are not of the Coppernose family line!" Ingvar roared, tetchy and snarling. His shout pulling Mirrenda and the guardsmen's attention fully back to the grouping of dwarves. "Hamnar had no wife, no sons! They steal his name and his property!" He pointed a knobby finger at the two in question.

"We paid the back taxes on the property, made all the correct arrangements since Hamnar didn't officially leave his estate to anyone." Kili snarled, more in warning than in explanation.

Ingvar sniffed indignantly. "Well don't look to me to reimburse you. Consider the monies lost for your temerity of stealing a name!"

Mirrenda looked at a loss on how to address the issue. "You can't just show up and stake a claim, Hamnar didn't leave behind anyone to directly inherit. Basically his sons had to buy back the property from the township. They couldn't just claim then on name alone."

Nerkek smiled at her charmingly. "Ingvar is getting older. And he was not on good terms with Hamnar, not since they were dwarflings together. Even so, they bumped along together though not closely. Then …" He hesitated, then sighed in resignation. "Truth? The two hadn't spoken since, well, since the Battle of Nanduhirion." He flushed a bit as he said it while Ingvar went white in the face.

"I had good reasons for not joining that army!" The older Coppernose exclaimed. "The outcome proved me right too!"

Mirrenda did not seem enlightened. Fili smiled wanly, already familiar with the story from Dern, who'd been Hamnar's friend. "It's another name for Azanulbizar."

That still didn't ring any bells for the human female.

"Huge war, with dwarves and orcs beneath the east gate of Moria?" Kili offered helpfully. "We won, barely. Great losses. Terrible, terrible day. Not quite a hundred and fifty years ago."

At this the humans all nodded largely. This they'd at least heard of, though only in passing as it was ancient history to them. To the dwarves, it was a much more immediate event. Fili and Kili had not yet been born at the time, but cowardice was a severe charge in dwarrow society. Ingvar's refusal to join the army didn't quite qualify, but it was a near thing.

"Hamnar and Ingvar haven't spoken together since." Nerkek said weakly. "Though you'd expect news of a wife and two sons to make its way to his last living relative, it might not have." He shrugged weakly.

The Humans all immediately relaxed, one even gave a half smile of understanding. They saw where this was heading.

"Hamnar would have informed me if he'd wed!" Ingvar protested sharply, still spry in his age and throwing his arms out widely for emphasis. "He'd have meant for his property to stay within the family. Me!"

Nerkek now hesitated. It was clear to the other dwarves at least he wasn't sure how to proceed. "If Hamnar left no word, then I cannot support that assumption."

"Even so. Even so." Ingvar forced himself to calm, putting his arms behind his back. "It does not mean that these two thieves are his sons! That claim is ridiculous!"

The third dwarf to enter cleared his throat, having remained silent this whole time. "Well. I have met Hamnar, years ago. And I have met these two lads before." He skipped over calling the brothers the old dwarf's sons, but no one seemed to notice, at least no one Human.

Ingvar drew in a shocked breath, looking poleaxed. "You, you … you agreed with me that the Hamnar you knew had no sons! Back in my village, you said! You cannot change your memories to suit your whims!"

The thickly bearded dwarf sighed and looked down, then back up. Earnestness showed in every expression, every glance of his eyes. He placed his hand on his chest, over his heart. "I did say that Hamnar had no sons, for that is what I believed. No sons. Living. These two …" He hesitated, then nodded with a weak smile. "These two I thought dead, dead and buried. I saw them grave injured in the battle outside Erebor. The one they be calling the Battle of Five Armies now. I saw them fall, unable to reach them or …or anyone else. The fighting was too thick." His voice near broke on his last words.

Mirrenda nodded in encouragement, her emotions caught by the sincerity she was hearing. "In these times, no one doesn't know those that have fallen to orcs and goblins, in raids or full out battles." She offered a sympathetic smile. "You claim you know the Coppernose brothers, mister …. ?"

"Nori. Please, stand on no ceremony and call me Nori." The red bearded dwarrow supplied both a name and a polite bow of greeting. "Warrior I've been, a dwarf of business will be next on my list. I do know these brothers. Know 'em well. Trust them with all I have." He said with true feeling.

"Elder?" One of the guardsmen asked next, looking toward Fili. He was a young Man with a wife and two children. He also had benefited greatly from the training that the Coppernose brothers had been offering.

Fili closed his bright blue eyes, nodding with great emphasis. "We have journeyed far together in the past. We know him well and it is with warm welcome we see him again this day."

Nerkek threaded the verbal needle, trying not to lie but clearly reluctant to betray the two heirs. "I had heard of their deaths as well, it is more than gratifying to know the reports were mistaken."

Ingvar continued to huff and puff, but no one seemed to be paying him any mind.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Bofur sipped the heated milk he'd actually prepared for Tauiel. The she-elf was having none of his attempts to get her to rest or even relax. He eyed her pacing the large receiving room. He'd moved her in here so she wouldn't wear out the carpet in Fili's study.

"Maybe I should …"

"Nay lass." The hatted dwarf said lazily, having already nixed her offer to slip away and see what was happening over a dozen times already. "And thank you for not running off when I turn my back. I'm too tired to chase after you."

"Rest." Tauriel said shortly, but not coldly.

"You first." Bofur yawned so wide his jaw creaked a bit. He shuddered deliberately, trying to shake the weariness off his shoulders.

The red-head stopped in the middle of the room. "I do not like doing nothing."

Bofur twisted his neck, sending out several popping noises before he asked his question. "What did you do, back in the Mirkwood, when forced to do nothing when that wasn't your wont?"

Tauriel sent him a glare mitigated slightly by her self-conscious chuckle. "I was under orders. A king's order, or a prince."

The hatted dwarf nodded in understanding. "I have no crown, just this beat up old thing." He patted his covered head.

"Why do you wear it all the time?" The she-elf asked, wanting desperately to be distracted.

"It becomes me." Bofur laughed with a light shrug. At her blank look he grinned wider. "You don't think so?"

The elf blinked slowly at him, clearly unsure how to respond.

"If'n Kili had been wearing this hat, you'd have married him BEFORE the dragon attack on Lake Town." Bofur teased outrageously.

Tauriel seemed to catch on that she was being poked at and she gave a small sigh. "Then how did I keep from falling in love with you? If the hat is so becoming?"

"Full moon?" The dwarrow gave her a sleepy-eyed look of sheer naivety. Faked, of course. "You were clearly crazed to pass a grizzled dwarf over for a young, handsome one with barely a beard."

Startled, Tauriel's green eyes grew wide. "You think a full moon brings on craziness?"

"Don't you?" Bofur asked curiously.

"It is a time of beauty. Every full moon is a gift to the elves. It's a call to romance, actually. Something to share with those you love."

The male dwarrow scratched his chin and scrunched up his face. "Now that idea IS crazed! Everyone knows full moons brings out the beasts and the magics and all things that might try to devour you."

"Says the race that lives underground!" Tauriel laughed, then seemed to catch herself. She sobered and looked back at the front door.

"They'll come when they come." Bofur said easily, then stiffened when sounds at the front door could be heard. "And it seems they come now."

Both the dwarrow and the elf watched as Fili entered first, followed by Kili. Neither appeared upset or overly tense. In fact, the young brunet winked at them with a grin. "Have a surprise for you all."

"I don't think I can stand any more surprises this night." Tauriel said stiffly.

"Even me?" A new voice interrupted as Nori came out from behind the two brothers.

Bofur whooped loudly, then covered his mouth as his eyes sparkled, his tiredness disappearing entirely. "Rascal!"

The she-elf blinked rapidly, then pointed at the newly arrived dwarf. "Isn't he …?"

"Someone you took prisoner?" Nori supplied with a grin. "Lads let me know to expect you …and that you're the expecting one." His eyes slid to her barely rounded midriff that did not appear obviously pregnant, not yet.

"They did not prepare us for your arrival." Came the sour reply brought on by several hours of unrelieved tension.

"They didn't know." Nori said with a grin. "Nor I. Dwalin, the evil git that he be, told me to come out this way for business. Sent me out in winter with no explanations, said it was urgent. Since he'd been off drumming up support for Balin's schemes on Moria, I thought'd be something along those lines."

"Surprised to find us, were you?" Bofur fairly beamed.

Nori sobered, looking at each most seriously. "I had no idea."

Bofur lost his smile, ducking his head with a shame-faced flush. "It was in a hurry it was."

"I understand. I do, I really know why not everyone could know the lads lived …and the fact that they walked away from the Mountain." Nori grimaced, a hurt look shining from his eyes.

Tauriel suddenly hissed, shaking her head. "Not here, not now. We have guests."

Fili nodded soberly. "Explanations in the morning."

"It is the morning." Kili countered, not really arguing. "We can meet in the mine. Later. We've had a celebration, a raid, a battle, and then Ingvar."

"Ingvar?" Bofur asked.

"I had a winter journey, a capture by slavers, a battle, and then a shock to find the dead living once more." Nori commented in a very dry tone of voice. "Rest doesn't seem that important at the moment."

"Pregnant." Kili pointed at his wife unabashedly.

"She can rest. You can talk." Nori pointed out while crossing his arms.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	40. Revelations

Nori turned in a slow circle, his dark eyes not really visible in the dim lighting of the two small mine lanterns while he was gazing upwards. Dull glints hinted at things hidden in the tough rocks. "Not rich, but not poor either. Lot of hard work to make this place a viable source of income, however."

Fili and Kili both stayed silent, trading looks that only brothers could read.

"This isn't a working mine." Nori announced with the tone of authority, moving his eyes back down to the rest of the group. "Perhaps it was once, but none of these cuts are fresh." He sniffed and shook his head. "Air's too still and stale. No one works here."

Bofur shrugged uncomfortably, ducking his head in some embarrassment as if he'd been caught being lazy. "Too much else to get set up with winter'n coming to worry about the mining. It wasn't a priority." His last sentence trailed off as he flushed.

Fili cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "I didn't know that you didn't know." He cut to the heart of the matter, ignoring the comments about the state of their small mine.

"I saw you fall." Came the suddenly hoarse reply. The red-bearded dwarf cleared his throat roughly, as if to better hide his rather raw emotions. "You and yer brother both. Protecting Thorin, of course."

"We would have died in his place. We should have." Fili said, drawing a hissing protest from Bofur, and a grim nod from his brother.

"We had naught to do with living through our wounds." Kili spread his hands rather helplessly. "That was the work of others." He sounded quite nearly apologetic about having lived.

"Others." Nori nodded, not speaking for a long moment. "Who does know?"

The blond prince frowned, his mind going from person to person. "Dis was the author of it. Gandalf, Bilbo, Thranduil, Legolas, several of the elves really."

The red-bearded dwarf clucked his tongue quietly and made a brushing motion with his hand as if the words displeased him. "Dwarrow."

Fili shrugged and glanced at the others as he started the list. "Dis, Dwalin and Balin. Oin was in on it from the beginning. Bofur, obviously, but of the others I am unsure."

Nori turned and stared at the hatted dwarf. Bofur smiled weakly. "Bifur knows, he helped in smuggling the lads free of Erebor's fields."

"Not Bombur?" Kili protested, stunned a bit since the rotund dwarf was Bofur's brother.

Bofur ducked his head, his cheeks pink. "Wasn't supposed to tell anyone else, not a soul. I promised Dis."

Fili blinked slowly, studying his friend then he suddenly chuckled. "How did you get around that?"

The hatted dwarf shrugged and shook his head with a wide-eyed expression. "I'd already told my brother, before the Lady made me so swear'n. He was torn up at the time, grieving so. But I know he's told no one, once Bombur makes a promise, that's it. You can't get him to budge."

"True enough." Nori snorted in some amusement. "Bombur had tears in his eyes when he came to shake my hand as I was departing. I thought it strange at the time. But he said not one word to warn me."

Bofur looked relieved as his smile turned a bit easier. "Good, very good." He chuckled weakly. "Probably thought you'n already knew and wishing he could go with you."

"Not with his brood, four grand lads? All with good jobs within Erebor, respect, and wealth? Oldest will be coming of an age to seek a bride within the next decade." Nori stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Well, if Oin knows, then Gloin might. Highly possible. Dori could and would keep this secret, even from me. Though I don't know if he actually knows any of this. Ori? He's got no clue, of that I'm sure. Wears his emotions on his face like a painted sign. If he knew, the whole world would soon know."

"I'm sorry." Kili said quietly, ignoring the comments on the other Company members. "We both are."

Nori smiled sadly with great fondness at the younger of the two brothers. "Are you apologizing for my not being told?" His gaze turned fierce for a moment. "Or for living at all?"

"For not getting word to you and the others. For not dying with honor protecting Thorin." Kili said, for once his voice sober and without a smile. "All of it."

"Or …" Fili twitched his mustache beads then sighed. "…for falling in love with and marrying an elf-lass and then actually getting her pregnant?"

Kili sent a betrayed glance at his sibling, while everyone else dissolved the last of the tension between them by actually laughing.

Nori took a deep cleansing breath, still smiling as he spoke. "I can work out the most of it. I was there for the first of Dain's rule. Saw the same sick look in his eyes that your Uncle had. Dis must have worried you'd have died rather than see a coronation."

"Thorin would have recovered as Dwalin swears Dain has." Fili stiffened his spine a bit defensively on his uncle's behalf.

Nori held up a stalling hand, palm out, as if to indicate he did not need to be convinced. "I agree. Thorin was nothing if not the strongest and best of us."

"I would wish some ale." Bofur sighed nearly under his breath, when he saw the others look his way he smiled wanly. "To drink to Thorin."

Grim nods, full of personal sorrow to each of those present. "We can do that tonight." Kili said, then flashed a rather brash grin. "Or is it still night?"

"Past morning by now. Sun is well and truly up, and we without sleep and a full day ahead." Bofur twisted his mouth with a dramatic sigh. He then pinned the youngest of then with a stare. "Kili, lad, you should go make sure that pregnant almost-dwarrowdam wife'n of yours actually rests."

Kili nodded just as Nori looked confused. "Tauriel? She said she was going to go lay down to rest as we came out here."

All dwarrow eyes turned to stare at the red-bearded dwarf with varying degrees of disbelief. Nori sighed and chuckled. "Like that is it?"

"I'm betting she's in the kitchen." Bofur winked at Kili.

Fili shook his head. "She'll be pacing in the great room."

The dark-haired husband laughed, shaking his head. "She'll be sitting up in bed and will lie down as she hears my footsteps on the stairs."

"Odds?" Nori smirked, glancing at each of his companions in turn.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"You cost me some money."

Tauriel pulled her head out of the pantry, looking around the kitchen area until her green eyes settled hungrily upon her young husband. He was smiling easily. Her tension faded downward and she managed to quirk up the ends of her lips slightly. "Money?"

"Nevermind." Kili said softly, his eyes moving tenderly over her. She was still in her nightdress and robe, with thick wool slippers that Bofur had gotten for her somewhere. They'd arrived one afternoon along with broken spinning wheel and a huge block of cheese. By the next day the spinning wheel had been repaired and traded off for some thick woolen blankets and a barrel of preserved foods. The brunet pointed at his wife's feet. "I thought you said they were ridiculous and unnecessary."

The red-head looked down, wiggling her toes in the warm comfort of the slippers. "I just didn't want to hurt Bofur's feelings by not wearing them." She hedged.

Kili's eyebrows drew up slightly, as if to say her answer as plausible but he wasn't sure it was entirely the truth. "Love, you said you'd rest."

"The babe informs me that he's hungry." Tauriel moved her palm down to the soft curve of her belly in a gently possessive movement though she still did not look pregnant.

Dark eyes softened immediately into molten pools of chocolate. "What does he want?"

Tauriel snorted softly and shook her head. "I don't know. I thought to make some eggs. But the little one seems opposed." She wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"You're adorable." Kili leaned his hip against the counter, crossing his arms.

"Hungry." She corrected, immediately followed by a large yawn.

Kili licked his lips as he spoke. "Left over stew? Spinach twists?"

Tauriel crossed her eyes at him and he guessed those options weren't appealing to the babe within her.

"Jam and some toast? Salted pork? Pickled beets?"

Tauriel's head snapped upward as an inner light lit her eyes from the inside.

"Beets? Really?" Kili made a face but headed gamely toward the storage cellar.

"No." The red-head stopped him. "Potatoes. Fried. Mustard."

The brunet turned to stare at his wife in some wonder. "You're not usually that fond of potatoes." He pointed out quite reasonably.

"Please?" There was a light of fervor shining in her jewel-like gaze. "Fried potatoes. And bring up an onion too!"

Kili didn't make any disparaging remarks on her sudden craving, having been warned by the elder dwarrowdams that there might be some rather odd requests around this time in the pregnancy. Gamely, he hurried to get what was needed as his wife pulled out the heavy cast iron skillet.

There was no call, no shout, no words to catch his attention. Only a soft exhalation out of synch with her breathing. Kili turned without thought, no thought of alarm, until he saw Tauriel's suddenly pale face and a hand on the counter as if to steady her balance.

He was next to her within seconds.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dori sniffed the fine tea leaves with great appreciation. He frowned slightly as he gently stirred the contents of the bowl delicately. "There are a lot of stems in here." He mentioned, with a slight frown of concern.

He looked up, ready to haggle on the price with the tea merchant. His eyes widened slightly as Dori had expected to see the dour faced fellow he usually dealt with frowning and ready to justify the over-abundance of stems in his wares. Instead, he was looking at someone entirely different. Someone whose presence in the vendor stalls was completely unexpected.

Dori's eyebrows flicked upwards and he sent a telling glance around him. "I should have noticed when the store cleared."

"Yes, you should have." Dwalin agreed coolly, his strongly muscled arms crossing over his chest. He too looked around the area, finding it completely clear. Of course. He'd arranged it that way.

"There are easier ways to speak with me." The gray-bearded dwarrow said sadly, looking down into the tea mixture again. "There really are too many stems in here. And I think quite a few crushed leaves on the bottom. Too expensive." He made a slight face of disappointment.

"Yer rich enough to buy whatever drink you want." Dwalin drawled.

"It's not a question of price, it's a question of quality!" Dori protested in a shocked voice, as if stunned that his friend hadn't recognized the difference. "Just because I have some spending money, doesn't mean that I should waste it on poor grade teas." He sniffed the leaves again and sighed. "Medium grade, perhaps."

"Dain not giving out your share?" The bald warrior asked rudely.

Dori waved off the comment with a harried look. "I'm well enough, well enough indeed. The King has been kind, and I have invested most of the monies back into the kingdom. For rebuilding." He glanced up at Dwalin's face, but his friend gave nothing away of his thoughts. "It's a good investment." He said defensively.

"I believe so." Dwalin said without inflection. He too had reinvested heavily in ventures meant to build up Erebor. Though, not all he had.

Dori licked his lips and shook his head. "You went to some trouble to speak with me. Even making sure it was private." He beetled his eyebrows over his gaze as he waved vaguely around the empty stall. "Now, care to tell me what this is about? Or are you here to explain where you sent my brother? Yes, I know you had something to do with his travelling. In winter." The gray-bearded dwarf sniffed.

Dwalin's chest expanded, and yet he hesitated.

Dori's eyes narrowed on the warrior, seeing the indecision written there. "What have you done? Is this about the nonsense Balin has been spouting about taking Moria back? I know Ori is all enamored, but I feel it a bad plan. We need far more information before even thinking in that direction."

"I …have news." Dwalin said slowly. "Very private, very quiet."

Dori stiffened at the cautious cast of his friend's voice. "Mordor?" His own voice dipped down into a whisper, his eyes wary.

The tattooed dwarrow gave a slight shake of his head. "Not exactly, though that was a consideration."

"Nori?" Worry shone out of the elder brother's eyes, no matter their respective ages. Younger siblings were always younger siblings. That's just the way things were.

"Should be safe enough, for now." Dwalin sighed heavily. "I sent him to serve the Line." He stopped, staring meaningfully at the gray-bearded and rather fussy dwarrow in front of him. He held himself ready to move if necessary. Dori was a gentle person, hard to rile, but he was also easily the strongest dwarf that Dwalin had ever met, and he liked his bones in their current configurations. Who knew how the other dwarrow was going to take the news? Well, not the news itself, but rather that he'd been left out of it all.

Eyes widened with speculation, but not realization. He wasn't there yet. Dori shook his head negatively.

Dwalin nodded at his friend.

Dori shook his head sadly, yet again. "The Line is dead." What was the bald warrior trying to say? He'd not be deliberately cruel, not like this.

Dwalin shook his head very deliberately. "The Line." He said the words in a whisper, yet with great emphasis.

A gasp, then a cessation of breathing. Dori's eyes widened with shock, wonder, and a hint of disbelief. "My brother would have told me."

"He doesn't know." Dwalin smiled grimly, and with more than a little perverse humor. "I would think that Nori will have quite a bit to say to me when we next meet."

Dori pointed at the bald warrior, then outwards in general, then back at Dwalin. His mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to come up with an intelligible response. Finally he swallowed hard and stared down at his booted feet. The other dwarf gave him all the time he needed in order to think it through.

"Which?" Dori suddenly broke the silence.

Which of the three. Dwalin nodded as he spoke. "The younger two."

Dori swiped at an errant tear, then wiggled his finger in his ear for a moment. "The younger of the two?" He cleared his suddenly dry throat.

"No. The two youngest. Both."

Another tear joined the first as Dori looked up, though not really seeing what was in front of him. "The oldest one?"

Thorin. Dwalin growled and shook his head.

A rough chuckle as Dori turned away, his hands trembling a bit as he dropped his shopping bags onto the floor. "Damn you." He said on good principle alone. "I was just beginning to sleep through the nights."

Dwalin grimaced and nodded. He knew exactly what the other dwarf meant. He too relived the Battle each night. And his failure to reach his friend and King in time.

Dori whipped around, his eyes bright and moist. "The King?" He stopped, shook his head. "Dain, I mean."

"Is the king." Dwalin said strongly, perhaps too strongly as the gray-haired dwarrow jumped a bit. "Dain is King Under the Mountain." The bald dwarf continued with less volume.

"But …"

Dwalin held up a staying hand and shook his head. "It's a matter of Mordor, prophesies, elven magics and a lot more."

"But …."

"Dis willed it so." Dwalin finished, biting off the last words almost bitterly.

The name of the princess stopped Dori's wild thoughts cold. He hissed, rolling his lips inwardly as he clenched his fists tightly. Dwalin watched out for those fists, he'd known his friend to punch through solid oak before.

Dori nodded, sighed, then nodded again. Finally he shrugged. "Another battle?"

For the kingdom. For the throne. Dwarf against dwarf. Dwalin winced, hating the sound of resignation and fear in his friend's voice. "No."

The gray-haired dwarrow looked up. "There has to be." He said, frowned, and then cleared his throat. "There has to be." He repeated with great reluctance. Obviously he did not wish to fight against Dain, but this was the Line of Durin.

"Dis made them swear not." Dwalin said coolly, though he was frowning. "They have so sworn."

"There would be support, a lot of it." Dori said with a great sigh.

Dwalin shook his head, resolute in his stance. "No."

Dori frowned, then swore under his breath with words Dwalin hadn't known his friend to ever use. "Moria?"

"Maybe." Dwalin shook his head. "Not immediately."

Dori nodded, forgetting that he'd initially been against the retaking of Khazad-dum, or Moria as many in Arda knew it. "You can count on me."

Dwalin chuckled in his grumbly voice. "You weren't keen on the idea before."

"It's for the Line." Dori said almost as an apology for not supporting the plan to put Balin in charge of Moria. Yet he would for Fili and Kili. For those two he'd do just about anything.

Dwalin smiled easily, not bothering to take offense. He felt nearly the same way.

"Why now?"

"It's time. And …" Dwalin paused, giving Dori a solemn look. "I need something."

"Of course."

"It may seem like nothing." Dwalin began.

Dori cut him off. "What do you, they, need?" The look he sent his old friend and distant cousin near burned.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I am perfectly fine." The red-head said with great dignity, scowling as Bofur cut her potatoes into smaller pieces. "I liked those the way they were."

Erestor chuckled, leaning against the kitchen counter and sipping some strong black, Dwarvish tea. It wasn't to his taste, but it wasn't unpleasant. And it saved his travel supply of green tea for later. Who knew what they'd find, or not find, on this journey to gather information.

"You got dizzy." Bofur frowned, pushing her plate of smaller potato triangles back toward her, satisfied there were no large pieces to choke the pregnant she-elf.

"I moved too quickly." Tauriel dismissed the moment as nothing.

Beside her, Kili frowned. "I've seen you run across boards or slippery rocks no wider than my thumb, I've seen you in trees and in battle. I've never seen you lose your balance."

Tauriel deliberately put some food in her mouth, for her husband was right. The momentary swaying of the world had startled her, never before had she really experienced such outside of childhood games with her brother.

"It's not that unusual, not when expecting." Nurbera bustled around the kitchen, cleaning. She'd shown up but a half-hour ago, bringing baked goods ostensibly, but really having come for information. The dwarrowdam glanced uneasily at the tall male elf in the room and ducked her head down again. She wasn't afraid, simply reticent around strangers as were most Dwarves.

"He's right." Erestor said quietly, drawing a variety of looks from those gathered. "What?"

Fili cleared his throat and shook his head. "Are you still going on about a permanent presence in Brookshire?"

"More or less." The elf nodded almost regally, unware that he was speaking to someone of actual royal blood. "A way station for the Rangers."

"Then you, and they, should make yourselves more familiar with certain aspects of your new town's residents." The blond continued.

Erestor gave them all a questioning look.

"She." Bofur winked as he broke the news to the suddenly paler elf. "Not he, she." He pointed over at Nurbera, who was busying herself at the sink and not looking up.

"I apologize." Came the humble response, along with a polite bow. "I will admit that I have met one other dwarrowdam, also with a beard. I …no, I have no excuse except lack of discernment."

"Teldu is Nurbera's daughter." Fili supplied the names, he suddenly shifted to standing upright. "And truth to tell, we let strangers think our dwarrowdams are male almost always. It's protection. But if your Rangers will be stationed here, they should be able to tell the difference."

"But not share that difference with outsiders." Erestor wasn't slow onto the mark.

"Exactly so." Fili nodded no less regally than the elf had been acting, though he was unaware of his manner.

The tall elf sipped his tea, his mind moving swiftly as he considered carefully his next words. "Secrets have a way of undermining things."

Kili's dark eyes flicked from the elf on over to his elder brother. His lips pressed together. Yes, the visiting Rangers knew enough to know all wasn't as it appeared on the surface.

"Does it really matter if strangers and outsiders believe that Nurbera or Teldu are female? It makes them targets. Better that they are protected and safe, even if it means keeping their natures a secret." Fili was no less cautious in his measured response.

Erestor nodded, not satisfied with the answer, but knowing when not to press further. He considered the dwarf's words, and all their possible meanings. What he came up with, was that whatever secrets the Coppernose brothers held so close, it was for protection and safety. He'd guessed that much already.

"I promised Nurbera we could work on garden planning."

Everyone turned to look at where Bofur was gently arguing with Tauriel. The hatted dwarf was making a sour face and shaking his head. "The ground be covered in snow lass."

"That's when the planning is the best. Before Spring begins." Tauriel protested. "I'll be sitting, I promise."

"You'll be asleep." Kili interrupted, giving his wife a long look. "You haven't slept in over a day. Elf or not, there are circles under your eyes."

"You haven't slept either." The she-elf protested a bit hotly.

"I'm not the one carrying the babe!" Kili responded, tugging at her arm slightly. "Come."

Tauriel pulled her arm away, not out of disagreeing with the brunet's assessment, but more from not wanting to be told what to do. She knew it was a childish thing, but could not seem to stop herself.

"Stop." Nurbera moved over to the duo, motioning Kili out of the way. "Let's go upstairs and talk."

"About the garden?"

"About anything you'd like." Nurbera sent a speaking look to all the male dwarrow. "Leave her be, you'll wear her out more by arguing."

In short order the males were left behind to brood, while the females moved upstairs. Once in the bedroom, however, Nurbera pointed toward the bed. "Lie down."

Tauriel sent the dwarrowdam a look of betrayal.

"Oh, don't give me that." Nurbera bustled around the room, dragging a chair over next to the bed. "We'll talk about the dratted gardens if you want, but with you laying down. Fight it all you want, but elf or not, you're exhausted."

The red-head thought about escape for a moment, then caught the concerned look in Nurbera's eyes. In ill humor she acquiesced, she pushed the thick woolen slippers off her feet and removed her robe before climbing under the sheets. The moment she was supine, something within her began to ease. Tauriel sighed, realizing everyone had been right and she needed to rest. "I am sorry."

"Don't be. Stubbornness isn't solely for Dwarves it seems." Came the rather dryly amused response. Nurbera sat next to the bed. "Do elves like okra?"

"Yes." Tauriel made a face. "But I don't in general. Slimy."

"Not when fried." The dwarrowdam smiled softly. "Have you tried it that way yet?"

The red head blinked and then shook her head. "No, I do not believe so. Do dwarves eat squash blossoms? That's something we fry."

"Stuffed with cheese?" Nurbera nodded with a smile. "It's also good in soup." The dwarrowdam's smile slowly faded as she watched the elf lying on the bed in front of her. "What aren't you sharing?"

The she-elf blinked, but said nothing.

"I cried a lot when I was pregnant, especially the first time. Missing my mam, I was. But we'd been separated by necessity. Smaug spread our people all over the place. It was hard enough finding work back then. Dern moved us out here so he could support us better."

"It worked." Tauriel said quietly.

Nurbera nodded with a wry smile. "At the time I told him how proud I was of him, and how I would follow him anywhere. It was the truth too. But at the same time, I was a little angry."

"I am not angry with Kili."

"No. But perhaps at King Dain?" The dwarrowdam stressed the title deliberately. "Or with your own king? Or Mordor? Fili?"

Tauriel sighed and shook her head, though she made a face at the mention of Mordor at least. "What are you seeking?"

"Something upsets you."

"Nothing. I am simply fatigued." Tauriel let a yawn near crack her jaw as she stressed her point, though the weariness was quite real.

"It's alright to be mad from time to time. Dern is not always the easiest male to live with." Nurbera said with a smile. "Though I love him from here through forever."

"I don't have forever." Snapped Tauriel, then she stilled. Her mouth dropped open and she closed her eyes.

Silence fell between the two females as each considered the moment. Finally Nurbera cleared her throat. "I just thought you were missing your people and home."

"I am, a little." The red-head said with aching softness. "I would wish my mother here, to see this one born." She let one hand move down to cover her belly. "I have …It hurt me to let Kili go off and fight the invaders without me. Though it was the right thing to do."

The dwarrowdam nodded as she listened. "He's a fine warrior."

"He's mortal." There. It was said. Tauriel turned her head to look at Nurbera. "I almost lost him, twice already."

"I can talk to him about getting your family here, or taking you home for a visit. But …I can't change other things." The dwarrowdam said with great sorrow in her tone.

"The time he has, I want. I want it all." Tauriel laughed at herself, turning to stare up at the ceiling. "I sound as greedy as I once accused dwarves of being."

"You knew he was a Dwarf."

The red-head nodded. "I knew. I still know. And I thought I'd come to terms with it. Having his children will be my only balm." Tauriel hovered her hand over her womb in an almost mystical gesture, though there was nothing of that nature involved. "But the attack, the Rangers, Nori …it brings Mordor and the outside world closer to us. Again."

Nurbera smiled and stood, brushing off her pants as she moved the chair back. "It occurs to me, that your husband needs to be in on this discussion."

"No." Tauriel said meaningfully.

Nurbera allowed her eyebrows to rise. "You don't think he'll want to add any input on how much squash and okra there will be in the next year? Shall I send him up?"

Tauriel blinked, realizing that the dwarrowdam wasn't saying she had to discuss things with Kili. But that she could. "Yes. Please."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Coryan?" Dis looked up, startled as the door to her private bower was thrown open. The princess immediately recognized the beauty, though she was currently looking less than her finest. "Why have you been crying?"

The dark-haired beauty nearly threw herself into Dis' arms, making the princess drop the book she'd been reading. Someone stood at the door, making the princess look up in question. "Your Majesty?"

Rilna waved off the title as she moved more slowly into the room. "I brought her here for you to explain things better."

"Explain what?" Dis said with some sourness in her voice even as she awkwardly tried to disengage herself from the clinging dwarrowdam still crying on her shoulder.

Rilna made a face. "There's an unfortunate rumor."

"More than merely unfortunate." Came a loud voice as Dain entered the bower, making Dis sigh. Whatever this was, it wasn't some female whim or nonsense. Not if the King himself was involved.

Dis tried once more to move Coryan back, but the young dwarrowdam was having none of it, tightening her hold. The princess fought against rolling her eyes. She liked Coryan well enough, but this was too much. "Stop." She pushed harder and set the dwarrowdam down in her seat as she moved away, straightening her rich skirt. "What rumor?"

"That Coryan carries on the Line of Durin." Dain said acidly.

The dwarrowdam in question pulled out her handkerchief, but Dis doubted it would do much good, not with the copious amounts of tears already falling. The poor thing needed a towel instead.

"Impossible." Dis exclaimed. "They've not been together or in private enough for such."

"Exactly so, exactly so." Dain nodded. "But there is a rumor. It's spreading through the mountain."

"Well, put a stop to it!" Dis said irritably. "It's not like I can do much. Of course, whatever you say, I will so support."

"It's spreading through the mountain." Dain continued almost angrily. "And beyond."

Dis stilled, her eyes finding those of the current King. The two shared a moment of mutual fear and worry. They turned at the same time, staring at the pregnant Queen comforting her kinswoman and lady's maid. Neither aware of the deeper ramifications.

Dis moved closer to Dain. "The Dark One?"

"If he thinks the Line continues. Yes." Dain nodded most grimly. "They'd move mountains to kill her."

"Just tell them that I'm not!" Coryan jumped to her feet, moving to grasp one of Dis' hands in both of her own. "Announce that I'm not carrying on the Line."

"Wish that you were." Dain muttered under his breath, though only Dis caught his words. She sent him a shocked look and the King shrugged at her.

Dis sighed and shook her head. "I can say such. But actions are louder than words."

"Or non-actions." Queen Rilna said firmly. "Give it a few months and it will become clear that Coryan is still pure."

"She may not have a few months." Dain said angrily, making a wild gesture with his hand that nearly had him apologizing for striking one of the guards. He moved closer to his wife. "Mordor will not want to wait. Maybe. They may just strike in order to be certain."

"Marry." Dis said quietly. When everyone turned to look at her, she shrugged. "Court, be courted. Now. Be gay and happy and not in love with ….a ghost."

Rilna shook her head. "She's still in mourning. She and your son were betrothed. It would look horrid if she threw off the traditional mourning period of a year."

"And let everyone continue to think her a near widow? One possibly carrying a child? No." Dis' voice firmed as an idea began to form. "Wear brighter colors. Go to parties. Find beaus, dozens of them."

"They'll think me a whore, not mourning properly." Coryan protested. "Your son deserves more than that."

"My son is dead." Dis said coldly, barely flinching at the words. "You are not."

Rilna sucked in a gasp and laughed. Everyone looked toward the Queen. "Repudiate her."

Dis' eyebrows winged up in shock. "What?"

"You, as Fili's mam, can rescind the betrothal. Releasing her from the engagement. She would have no reason to officially mourn." The queen continued in a rush.

Coryan shook her head, looking confused, though it was clear her mind was spinning with ideas. This was one of the reasons Dis and Thorin had liked her for Fili. She was a political creature at heart. "What grounds?"

Everyone stopped, thinking hard. Dain sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Not for betrayal. That would stain Coryan and keep the finer of the dwarrow from her. Nor could we say Fili betrayed her, it would stain his fine memory."

"I can't repudiate her on any grounds." Dis protested. "Fili is not …he's not alive."

"It'll work, it has to work." Coryan said, her eyes still red rimmed, though the tears were drying.

"Consanguinity?" Rilna said in a voice that showed she didn't believe it even as she put it forth as an idea.

"What, that they are too closely related?" Dain shook his head. "Fili was sister-son to my cousin. Coryan is related through marriage to my wife. There was no shared blood between them. No."

Coryan stirred and looked up. "My dowry."

Dis scowled. "At the time of the betrothal Fili had nothing but a name, while you have family land."

"Now Fili would have a name, a crown, and a treasure." Dain looked up hopefully. "He could look higher, if he'd survived, of course."

"My dowry was fine at first, but now I am too lesser perhaps?" Coryan looked at Dis with excited eyes.

Dis winced. So many things wrong that it was making her head ache. First, despite her tears, Coryan's sorrow wasn't for Fili but for what was being said of her. Political creature. She sniffed. So much for a mother's bright idea. Fili hadn't been enamored, though he'd agreed with the betrothal. Second, her son was alive. Alive! She wanted to shout this to Dain, to Rilna and yes, even to Coryan. Prudence though, must not be rash.

Dain may not be the threat he'd been right at first. He might even wish the Line to have lived. Yet. Mordor still lurked. And would Dain really step aside? Just like that?

"Dis?"

Startled, the princess was pulled from her musings back to the present discussion. "I will stand and repudiate you at dinner this evening. On grounds that your name is clearly not high enough, nor your dowry rich enough. Let whatever vitriol comes to fall on me for being greedy. Most will understand without explanation anyway."

Dain grunted in agreement, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Court. Wear colors outside of mourning. Be seen flirting. And for the sake of us all, wear tight clothing! Show that slender form that isn't growing. No sweets, no chocolate, nothing that will add any pounds."

Coryan flashed a grin and nodded.

Dis looked at her solemnly long enough that the younger dwarrowdam's grin faded. "And you can't marry until a year from the Battle. An exact year."

"But I won't be in mourning." Coryan protested even as she nodded in agreement.

"Not officially." Dis said with some grinding of her teeth. "Also, it will show that you're not marrying to cover up an early pregnancy by getting another to play father."

"Good thinking." Dain and Rilna both nodded, though only the queen was smiling.

Dis looked away from everyone else's relief, her heart in turmoil. Rumors. Could be natural, but most likely not. She recalled her conversation with Dwalin just a few days ago. How she was glad that Fili had found someone to court in his new home, but that it bothered her since he was officially still betrothed. Even if the dam thought him deceased.

Now that was no longer an issue. Tonight, as his mam, she'd be dissolving that betrothal. Leaving Coryan free to be courted.

And secretly? Leaving Fili just as free.

Dis' mouth tightened in amused wonder. How had Dwalin made it happen? Though she knew instinctively, that even if the rumors were tracked down to their source, it would not lead back to her. Or him. Well enough then. Well enough.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Love?"

Despite having been waiting for him, Tauriel still was a bit startled as she realized she'd been half-way asleep already. Her head turned to look at Kili as he stood beside the bed. Quietly she patted the space next to her.

Kili eyed her with worry in his gaze, moving to join her.

"Not like that."

The brunet blinked, unsure.

Tauriel waved at his clothing. Kili sighed. "Love, I have things to do."

"I as well. You've had just as much sleep as I have, but have been in two battles as well."

Kili grinned at her, even as he started to pull off his boots. "You're the pregnant one." He reminded her fondly. "It's my job to protect you."

Tauriel watched as her husband started for her again. Once more she shook her head, pointing at his leathers.

"Love, be reasonable." He protested.

Silently she gave him a long, lingering look. With a sigh he reached to start to tug off his heavy leathers. Finally he was wearing just a pair of trousers and a loose shirt. He gave her a look and spread his hands as if to ask if she were at last satisfied.

"No shirt."

Kili's head dropped but he yanked the offending piece of cloth up and off. His jaw set, he climbed into bed, pulling the cover up over himself to join her.

Tauriel grabbed the sheet even as she turned to face him, pushing it back down as she rose up on one elbow. Kili was on his back staring up at her. "No." He said.

"What?"

Kili grinned up at his wife with all his inherent charm and shook his head. "You are too fatigued. We aren't playing this morning. I'll hold you until you fall asleep."

"Yes, you will." She promised. Then leaned forward and placed a kiss in the hollow of his neck, her long hair falling about her and teasing his chest, causing the nipples to peak.

Kili's laugh turned darker and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his embrace. "You were dizzy."

"I'm not now." His arm had her head pressed against his chest muscle, the hair there tickling her cheek as she spoke. She blew out warmly upon his skin even as a free hand moved down his body to the ties of his trousers.

"Taurrrriellll …" He drew out her name in a warning.

"I have been aching to touch you, to hold you, ever since you left me behind at the Yule party." Elegant fingers traced a soft design in the hair around his flat stomach. The muscles of his abdomen jerked beneath her light touch.

"You are with child." Kili's hand moved to stop her hand, he laced their fingers together.

"I know." She admitted. "I know the reasons, and I even agree. But I cannot help the way that I feel. I used to think the ancient Elvish sagas to be foolish. Speaking of broken hearts and longing and pain worse than death, all nonsense. Until you."

Kili's heart skipped a beat and he grinned. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and neck moved to allow his hand to pick up a handful of her long red hair. His fingers carded through the silky mass in a caress. "I feel the same of you."

"Kili. I told Erestor and Arrenis of the passages, because I didn't want you fighting alone. I can't lose you. Then I hated myself for telling them, for it puts you in danger on another front. I miss the Mirkwood."

Kili instantly frowned, disappointed that she was homesick, but understanding as well. "We can go there."

"No." Tauriel pulled free and placed both hands on the bed on either side of her husband. Her chest and head rose up to look directly into his eyes. "What I miss is that I knew the Mirkwood. I knew every line, every tree, every bit of it. I knew every danger and every way through those woods. I don't have that here, not yet. I have little control. There are too many paths here that could get to you."

"Us."

She blinked slowly, then nodded. "Us."

Kili was young and in love, but he was no one's fool. "Tauriel. I am an adult. I can take care of myself. Yes, there are dangers. Yes, I nearly died twice and you were there each time to help pull me back. But that doesn't mean that I am weak or helpless."

"Of course not." She flinched at the idea. "I do not think that."

"Don't try to protect me from living my life. Be a part of it. The very center of my life and my heart." He stared earnestly into her green eyes with love shining through. "Put your energies into building a life. Here or elsewhere. You and me and the baby, and more babies if life is so kind."

Tauriel nodded, nearly choking up as she watched him. "Can I hold you? After a day like today, I just want to hold you."

He melted. He couldn't help himself. "I'm right here."

Tauriel blinked, lifting one hand as she shifted to the side, still staring down at her husband. She placed her hand on the ties of his trousers. "You invited me to search here, once."

Kili thought about protesting, knowing she was tired. But he had a feeling his words would fall on deaf ears. "You speculated, evilly, that there was nothing to find."

"I've been known to be wrong." Tauriel admitted, semi-apologizing for many things. She tugged on the trouser ties, feeling them loosen. Her fingers moved to lie flat on his stomach, his muscles quivering beneath her touch. She turned her hand to slide her fingers just underneath the loosened fabric.

Kili caught his breath, holding it as she looked into his eyes. "Find anything?"

"Not yet." She purred. "Disappointing."

"You're just scratching the surface." Kili's voice rose on the last word as her hand began exploring southward. Her fingers brushed up against something velvety hard and already straining underneath the confinement of his trousers. His hips moved involuntarily, seeking more of her touch.

She denied him. Keeping her fingers just shy of their ultimate goal.

He reached for her, bunching the hair at the back of her head with his hand as he pulled her in for a deep kiss. At the same time her fingers found the root of him, wrapping him in the warmth of her grasp. He moaned into her mouth as she chuckled.

Pulling back slightly, she pressed butterfly kisses to the sides of his mouth as he groaned and tried to chase her for a more satisfying kiss. "I think I may have found something in your trousers after all."

"You're playing with fire." He warned her.

She grinned against his mouth. "I thought I was playing with a war hammer of Dwarven design and make."

"No."

Tauriel drew back, puzzled. She found Kili looking up at her near glassy eyed. "No war hammer, not today. Ride me."

The she-elf smiled darkly, moving to sit astride her husband's hips. No war hammer? Because she was pregnant, tired, and had been dizzy. Even now he thought first of her. Letting her take him, as deeply as she wanted, controlling the pace and the pressure.

Kili's hands found her bare backside beneath her gown, squeezing as she moved free his erection and take him inside of herself. She looked down at him as she captured his essence within her body, slowly, perfectly. Fitting together as if made solely for one another.

"My dwarf." She breathed, rising up on him.

"Yes!" He yelped, arching his back.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	41. Tempers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No. I did not abandon this story. This is the problem with writing more than one lengthy fanfic at the same time. One story gets on a roll. Well, hopefully I will be posting more on this one right now. We'll see how rabid the plot bunnies are. My schedule is a bit better at the moment, so hopefully that will mean more frequent updates on both stories. We'll see!

"No! Not like that, by now you should have a sure foot in the basic stances!"

Nori heard the words, and more importantly, the unusually acidic tone of voice. He finished his knife stoke, demonstrating a fighting technique designed to make use of an opponent's weakness if they were left-handed. The ginger-bearded dwarf backed away from the young human males he was instructing, with words of encouragement and instructions to continue before turning to look over at their archery range.

Sunlight bouncing off the snow made him squint and cover his forehead with the flat of his hand in order to see better against the glare. The storm hadn't been bad this time at least, so the accumulation wasn't too deep. Even for a Dwarf. The humans still took some amusement seeing the stouter and shorter dwarrow push through the snow. Normally that would have set off his ill temper, but strangely enough, Nori was feeling rather comfortable here. In the two months since his arrival in Brookshire, the ginger-bearded dwarrow had slid smoothly into the routine of life here.

Which had rather surprised him, actually. He'd never been one to sit still for very long, unless there was a profit in it of course. And the aftermath of what had become known throughout Arda as the Battle of the Five Armies had left him itchy, incomplete.

Here in this Human town of Brookshire, though, he'd felt more at home in ….well, a very long time. His only regret was that his brothers weren't here. Yet.

Damn Dwalin and Balin and Oin and even Dis, for not telling him. Them. He was almost certain that Dori didn't know, or he would have shared. Probably. He smiled grimly as he turned without conscious thought and looked out toward where the blacksmith worked. Over the sound of the practicing guardsmen he could make out the rhythmic clash of a hammer on anvil. Probably the human smithy, but it could be Fili. In his head, Nori chose it to be Fili. Prince. King. He smiled sadly although the knowledge of the blond's continuing existence warmed him more thoroughly than his heavy cloak.

Even so, everything was wrong. The Line lived, but they weren't in their rightful place. Erebor was free, yet in the wrong hands. Sauron lived and hunted them. Dis was separated from her children. Dori and Ori didn't know about the Line and weren't here. Thorin was Waiting.

Nori's smile faded on that last thought. Thorin. He could picture the straight back, the forceful personality behind those piercing eyes, the fierce determination. His mind slid to odd moments of a shared past. A quirk of the lips at an unexpected jest, the warm clap of a hand on a shoulder, an appreciative glance, a leader worth following. Of all that was wrong, that was the worst. Everything else could be handled, given time.

He nodded to himself and tried to shake off the memories of that funeral, those final words, the cold skin of his king's hand as Nori had placed a simple token in the tomb. Waiting. That's what the dead were meant to do. Wait for the aftermath of the final battle, when the Dwarves would rise and help remake Arda with the Second Music.

In the meantime, those that had gone on to Wait were sorely missed. Nori snorted at his own deep thoughts, trying to shake off the foreboding feeling. Waiting had a different meaning as well. One for the living. Waiting for just the right moment. Dwarves knew that everything had its own pace. For someone used to the long game, Nori knew how to wait. Everything had a proper place and time. He sighed, breathing in the cold chill air.

Yule was two months ago, but it was too early to taste spring's arrival. Especially so close to the Misty Mountains. But it would come.

"Do you have cotton in your ears?"

Nori winced as he was yanked back to more mundane thoughts, glancing unhurriedly back at the archery range. So much was wrong, but that shouldn't number among them. He gestured for one of the younger human boys who was actually too young to train, but loved to watch the goings on. The eager lad was at his side in seconds, eyes bright and hopeful. The child's boots had seen better days and his winter cloak was obviously cut down for him, but he was relatively clean and fairly bouncing with energy.

The red-head pressed a half-penny in the boy's hand and whispered a short message. The lad nodded and took off at a run. Nori knew he'd not had to pay the stripling. Boys like that wanted, needed, to be of assistance. Longed to be noticed and of use. But it was winter and life wasn't easy, not even in this pretty township. Now that he had means, it had surprised him that his notoriously tight-fists itched to share with those like he'd once been. And he had been that lad once, long ago.

"I know you're not deaf! Turn your foot out! No, the other one!"

Nori winced, not wanting to go over there, but he didn't know how long it would be before the human child could find Kili and fetch him. He straightened his shoulders to approach the fiery red-head with the temper like a snake. "Tauriel?"

The she-elf's head turned sharply in his direction, her eyes narrowed, though her cheeks were softly rounded in a way they'd not been when first they'd met back in the Mirkwood. That wasn't all that was rounded, he mused.

Nori's eyes took in the tall form of the pretty elf in the high temper. She wasn't showing her pregnancy terribly, especially not with her winter clothing obscuring and covering everything. Yet he knew her shape was fuller now than when he'd first arrived in town.

She said nothing, and neither did he. Her nostrils flared and he let one eyebrow drift upwards. Reddened lips tightened as he stopped several feet from her, simply watching.

The human archer the she-elf had been 'instructing' tried to ignore them both as he turned back to his target practice. He settled into his stance. Imperfectly.

Tauriel stiffened, but Nori crossed his arms, stilling whatever she might have said.

The human male looked down at his feet, flushing and corrected the stance.

The she elf held herself stiffly, then gave a shudder and turned her head away as the arrow flew, striking the target within four inches of dead center. A moment passed and then Tauriel nodded. "Better." She said in a much subdued tone of voice. "And, my apologies."

The human guardsman flushed and ducked his head, quick to forgive since it wasn't like the usually even-tempered she-elf. "Are you feeling alright?"

The innocuous question stiffened every muscle in the red-haired she-elf, but she held her tongue this time and gave a curt nod while the human male blushed and turned his attention back to his bow.

Nori walked forward, past Tauriel, and then five steps beyond her he stilled though not turning around. As if waiting. She took the cue with ill grace and moved up beside him as he began walking once more.

The two red-heads, of vastly differing heights and width, moved across the snowy area silently until they reached a canopied area open on all four sides that offered some cover. Not that the winter sun was ever as warm as it was bright, still, it was where the chairs were. Though neither chose to sit.

A small table held a pitcher and cups as well. Nori peered inside, frowned, and then banged the container heavily against the table to try and break the ice. "Solid." He observed with a shrug.

"I don't need a drink." Tauriel said in an almost bitter tone. "I have to excuse myself every few minutes anyway as it is."

Nori nodded, knowing it grated on the poor lass to be going to the bathroom so often. "How do you feel?" He asked the same question as the human had.

The she-elf gave him a baleful stare for daring. It seemed every time she turned around someone was asking her the exact same thing. "I feel pregnant." Came the snippy response.

Nori watched her coolly and she sighed, giving in slightly. "The babe is healthy."

The dwarf let the comment go for a moment, letting silence fill in the air between them. Then he gave a soft grunt. "And you?"

Tauriel slid a side-long glance at the newest addition to their group. In the two months that he'd been in Brookshire, she had come to appreciate Nori quite a bit. He didn't hover over her like Bofur or the other dwarrow, including her poor husband. He was sharp witted, sometimes cruel in his observations, cautious, and often abrasive. Nori wasn't one to pamper her simply because she was female and pregnant. Nor had he completely forgiven her for her part in imprisoning the dwarves once. So when he asked about her welfare, it came with a different weight that the same question had from other sources. To him she couldn't give the same answer she always gave.

Nori saw her weight shift, as if uncomfortable. His frown deepened slightly though he was willing to outwait her.

"I don't know." She whispered at last. "I feel …unbalanced. But not ill. Not dizzy." She hastened to add, lest he misconstrue her complaint. "On edge without reason."

Nori nodded, knowing things were going well enough. The Rangers had left town with the two elves from Rivendell, though they'd left one man behind to begin the process of building a waystation. There had been no further attacks on the town since the rout of the Easterlings. The executions had not been graphic, as their prisoners had been released out into the cold of winter. Without weapons. It might have been kinder to hang them, but Nori hadn't objected to the council's decision. Much. Even Ingvar Coppernose wasn't a problem. He was still grumbling, but no one was paying him any mind and had seemed mollified when Fili had gifted him with some old keepsakes of Hamnar's.

So things were pretty good. Yet he did not dismiss her feelings even as he sought to reassure the elf-lass. Nori nodded slowly, relaxing subtly as he returned his attention to the matter at hand. "The middle part of the pregnancy is the worst."

Suddenly amused green eyes turned on him as she shook her head in disbelief. "You said that about the first months when you arrived."

Nori nodded, kicking at something nonexistent on the ground with his heavy dwarven boot. "And I'll say the same about the last part of the pregnancy. Right now, is always the worst. Tomorrow will always be better and yesterday not as bad as you remember it."

His words shouldn't have comforted her, yet they did somewhat. Gratefully she nodded, even knowing the logic was less than realistic. "Who?" She asked.

Nori ran a hand over the back of his hair and shrugged. "My mother, with Ori. It's been many a decade, but I remember. If you want, I could write her. For advice, though I think Nurbera is more in tune with what you need."

Startled, Tauriel blinked at him. "Your ….mother?"

Nori gave her a rather stinging smile. "Just because we're mortal doesn't mean that the older generation is completely gone and are Waiting. I have a mother."

The she-elf shook her head as if confused. "No. I just …you'd never mentioned her before. I thought that meant …I mean culturally, I made an erroneous conclusion that not speaking of someone meant dead."

Nori blinked, having not looked upon his own race's ways from an outsider's perspective before. "We speak of the dead."

"The long dead, or at least enough time gone to move forward." Tauriel countered, though not with surety. "Or so I thought. At night I hear stories of Groin, and Thrain, and Durin and Fundin …."

"But not Thorin." Nori's eyes closed slowly as he nodded in understanding. "I take your point and I apologize myself. You are more sensitive to us and our ways that I might have credited."

The she-elf nodded in acceptance of the words, but didn't pry.

Nori smiled at her appreciatively. "My mother approaches her 200th birthday, and though her mind is vigorous her body is less so. Not from age, but from long years of work. She has one leg a bit shorter than the other, a wound sustained from human bandits many years ago. She has declined to return to Erebor and will live on in Ered Luin."

Shocked, Tauriel's green eyes widened as she stared at him.

Nori shrugged. "I met Thorin when he and Dwalin swept through our area of Ered Luin, which is a vastly large area being mountains and all. They cleaned out the raider trash, and provided what food they could for those in need." He paused significantly and his look hardened. "We were in need."

Tauriel felt his rather bland words were probably a huge understatement, but also sensed the proud dwarf would not appreciate her poking at that particular nerve ending. She nodded and said nothing.

A moment passed, and then Nori nodded at her gratefully.

Suddenly the she-elf startled a bit. "I thought you were cousins with Thorin? How is it you didn't meet him until then?"

This pulled a large chortle out of the ginger-bearded dwarrow as he shook his head in agreement. "Oh aye. Dwarves have LOTS of cousins and blood. Too many to keep track of everyone. Especially since me and Thorin were cousins through marriage. More specifically my father was the younger brother of Thrain's wife. We weren't topside socially, but she married higher than anyone expected."

"Still?"

Nori laughed some further and shrugged. "My mother had five brothers. Merchants, scribes, scoundrels. Not a noble among them. Besides, King Thror wasn't overly fond of the dwarrowdam his son chose to marry. Though they did eventually come to terms, she didn't come to family dinners. Our side of the family."

"Tauriel?"

The two red-heads turned and spotted Kili as he trudged through the white stuff, scowling.

"You had to call for him?" She hissed in a whisper.

"You had to bite off and chew the ears of the guardsmen?" He hissed right back.

"He's going to coddle me." The elf protested.

Nori nodded, a glint in his eye. "You deserve it." His tone made it clear he was speaking about her bad temper and they both knew he was punishing her for being so waspish earlier.

"Your leather armor has weak spots that will fit my dagger nicely." She whispered as Kili neared them, though he could not hear them yet.

"I'll tell him you had to catch your balance on the stairs, or stubbed your toe. Better yet, that look fatigued." He threatened.

Tauriel's green eyed gaze slid to the side, catching Nori out of the corner of her sight. "You'd lie?"

"Easily." Nori whispered, then raised his voice with a hearty smile. "Good day to you Kili!"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"OUT!"

The dwarven guards actually flinched as the huge doors to the room flew open with such force that they banged against the stone on either side of the wall.

Gandalf blinked, looking up from where he sat with Queen Rilna of Erebor, holding her hand as they spoke.

The servants fled immediately. Including the one holding the tray of tea cups. Coryan stared wide eyed, her hand still reaching for a cup that was no longer there as the servant beat a hasty retreat. "I wanted that." She said with a familiarity for the royal family that went back decades. The two young dwarrow with her, both of noble houses, held themselves still, watching to see the reaction.

Dain scowled and turned on her, red in the face and pointing but unable to speak.

The young dwarrowdam rose quickly, realizing a bit too late that his order had included her as well. The two dwarves with her each escorted her out of the chamber as quickly as their dignity would allow.

Gandalf stood smoothly, and perhaps it was chance that he found himself between the King and Queen of Erebor. Perhaps. Dain glared at him and the wizard bowed slowly as if to take his leave.

"Not you." Dain growled between clenched teeth.

Rilna's eyes widened as she watched her husband, who caged his towering temper to give her a quick nod of his head to indicate that she too was to exit.

A heavy, if elegantly arched, eyebrow rose over the queen's lovely brown eyes.

"If you would be so kind." The king gave his wife a short bow, and despite the words offered, it was still an order.

Rilna rose, though needing the offer of Gandalf's hand due to her increasing size due to the pregnancy. She murmured an apology to the wizard and swept out of the room without bothering to hurry despite her husband's ill mood.

Silence fell, except for the clenching of King Dain's teeth. He turned and glared at the guards in the hallway who nearly fell over themselves to shut the doors once more.

Gandalf watched, slightly bemused, and if he knew what the king's rage was about it did not show on his still smiling face. "Your majesty?"

Dain roared. Threw back his head and roared wordlessly in anger, rage, and perhaps even pain.

Gandalf's face clouded with concern.

"Do not! Do not play innocent with me you damnable wizard! Where is cousin?"

The person who looked for all the world like a graying old man simply blinked and shook his head slightly. "A bit more clarity perhaps?" In a round-about reminder that the current King Under the Mountain had a lot of cousins.

"The LINE!" Dain screamed at him, his face mottled white and red and nearly frothing at the mouth.

"Safe." Gandalf nodded, then paused as if reconsidering the question. "Dis?"

"Of course I mean Dis!" Dain threw out his arms in a wide sweeping gesture. "My son just left the room inside his mother's womb and the others lie entombed." He paused, his breathing labored as he glared at the wizard. "Dis and Dwalin have disappeared. They did NOT arrive at Isengard!"

For the first time Gandalf noted the parchment clutched in the king's right hand. "Ah."

"I am not blind! I saw you and Balin and Dwalin and DIS!" The king used his free hand to pull hard at his beard in frustration. "Talking, always talking and whispering, plotting and planning!"

"We were hardly in hiding." Gandalf said blandly.

Dain whirled on him, scowling darkly. "Do you deny that Dis tired of my care and took herself off someplace to hide?"

The gray wizard blinked then answered simply. "No."

The king's head dropped, his crown firmly in place and yet heavy on his head. "I never wanted this." He said in a much lower tone of voice.

"No?"

"No." Dain's head snapped back up, pinning the wizard with the power of his gaze. "I denied Thorin, demanded he have the Arkenstone before I would ever support an attack here. I only came at his urgent summons. I ….I know I wasn't myself at first."

Gandalf watched, listening, waiting.

"I never wanted this! Not like this!" Dain shook his head a bit wildly, turning in a circle as he looked around the well-appointed chamber. "I always counted blood above gold, my whole life. Then that damned Thorin called me out here. And he had the gall to die on me!" He thumped his chest.

Gandalf blinked and said nothing.

"I miss him." Dain sighed heavily, rubbing his face heavily with his free hand. "Yes, I lusted for the gold when I finally saw it. And it stole my mind."

"You wrested it back." The wizard spoke mildly.

"Thorin would have done it sooner." Dain said, turning to stare at a portrait of Thror hanging over the fireplace. "Is this my punishment?"

"King Dain. Your majesty …" Gandalf began evenly. "Dis was choking to death on your protection. I swear to you by any oath you would have that she is exactly where she wants to be."

"She's the last."

Gandalf gave a sort of half-hum but did not respond.

"My legacy is to watch Erebor fall before Mordor? How is that right? How is my hubris and mind-sickness to be held accountable for an entire race?" The warrior king sounded so lost it culled a sympathetic look even from such a one as the wizard. "You won't tell me where, will you? Not even if I have you imprisoned."

"You could try." Came the rather droll response.

Dain waved a hand as if to indicate the uselessness of such a maneuver. "You helped, of that I'm sure. But it was her idea."

"Yes."

A rough chuckle full of sorrow and no mirth. "Dwalin. His 'retirement' was a ruse. They'd already been planning their leave."

"Indeed."

"Their romance?"

Gandalf shrugged rather helplessly. "As far as I am aware there was nothing between them of that nature."

Dain nodded, fatigued beyond all measure. "I guessed that much at least."

"Your son will be safe against dragon-sickness, or indeed any mind manipulation of any kind." Gandalf offered the only thing he had, although he knew the king had already been informed.

Dain snorted and shook his head, less than amused. "Grand. He will make a fine king of ….what? What will be left after the Line fails? What will Mordor leave him?"

"The Line continues." Gandalf spoke gently.

Dain turned, heading back toward the doors. "You and yours can dream that the Line continues through my son. But this newest Thorin is not of the direct Line of Durin. No matter what you say." He opened the door and left without further word or gesture.

"The Line continues." Gandalf reiterated to an empty room, his voice full of sorrow for comfort he could not afford to give.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Not a very regal chore."

Teldu smiled as she straightened, her hands moving to finish hanging up the shift to dry in the utility room, though she made sure no trace of that smile was present when she turned around.

Fili's blue eyes fairly gleamed as he openly smiled at her, his chin twitching up in a completely unconscious movement that spoke volumes of his underlying self-confidence and pride. She doubted he even knew he did that, it was just a part of who he was.

She eyed Fili carefully and lifted her own chin in response. He wasn't the only prideful one. "I'm not royal." She demurred.

"Royal? Not funny. If she were any more bossy than she already is I'd have to choke her in her sleep." Cleadeth rolled her eyes and hung up the next piece of laundry.

Teldu slid her eyes over toward her sister in a mute warning to the blond to say nothing more about royalty. "Dear sister, you calling me bossy is the reverse of truth. You're the one always trying to get her way."

"I have to try." Cleadeth straightened up, flipping her braids back behind her as she flashed a brilliant smile. "Because if I didn't it would be all your way, all the time."

Fili grinned at the sisters while he leaned against the doorway, watching them both. "Who knows, you could meet a prince one day and sweep him completely up and into your arms." He teased outrageously. "Then you would be royal. Of course, he'd have to go through me to get to you. Poor prince."

Teldu's spooky blue eyes widened with alarm and then looked over at her sister, who was fortunately taking it all as a lark. She gestured at him to shut his mouth about royalty.

Cleadeth caught none of the byplay as she made a curtsy and batted her eyelashes outrageously. "Well, rumor has it that the queen is expecting a babe soon. Still and all, he'll be a while before anyone could get him to court them."

"Really? I hadn't heard that rumor." Fili lied, making Teldu glare at him for his audacity. She knew well enough that it was the blond's friend from Erebor, that Nori, who had started the 'rumor' about a new heir. "Though it'll be the first good news to come out of the mountain since it was freed."

"Oh! I would love to go and dance at a royal ball, or sit to dinner in Erebor." Cleadeth sighed dreamily. "Teldu's going, in the summer. But she refuses to let me make her a new dress. So the young prince should be safe from her, at least this time."

"Don't be cheeky. I'm going to be sitting for my mastery. Working. I won't be trying to woo a prince, especially a new born one." Teldu said with a hint of a bite in her tone, though her glance was at Fili and not her younger sister.

"I vote against a new dress, unless it stays here, just for me to see her in it." Fili grinned, his dimples peeking out beneath his well-trimmed beard. "I don't want anyone in Erebor thinking they can steal Brookshire's new Master Baker."

Cleadeth hooted with laughter as Teldu threw a damp shirt into Fili's face rather than pinning it up to dry.

He snatched it off his face and gave her a mock growl as he shook it out and grabbed a few pins. He moved into the room and neatly hung it up to dry with the ease of a familiar task. "Afraid the weather is about to worsen?" He commented on the fact that the clothing wasn't hung outside.

"Ring round the moon not too long ago. More snow." Teldu commented, and there's moisture in the air so it would take longer to dry.

"Nothing regal about the Coppernose family. Common as river mud." Cleadeth commented, sending a half-mocking smile over at Fili. She still felt the sting that he'd chosen her older sister over herself. "He's hung out clothing before."

"Often." Fili commented, then frowned and gave her a teasing look. "You don't think royalty knows how to wash their own clothes?"

"Oh no, they'd have servants to do that!" The younger sister giggled. "And instead of taking father his lunch, I'd ring a silver bell and have someone else do it for me."

"Sounds dull." Fili nodded gamely, a smirk on his face. "I'd rather not be royal if that's the case. And silver seems as common as river mud, I'd use a mithral bell at the very least."

Cleadeth laughed and nodded, patting Fili companionably on the shoulder as she left to go run her chore.

Teldu waited until the younger dwarrowdam was well out of hearing before rounding on Fili and swatting the same shoulder. "Stop that!"

He grinned and grabbed her hand, tugging her in close. "We always helped mam with the wash. Does that make me less attractive? Less commanding? Less arrogant? More approachable?"

Teldu poked his side as he reeled her in closer, finally wrapping both of his arms around her as she looked up into his laughing face. "I can't imagine anyone more arrogant."

"You have a lack of imagination then. And you haven't met Thranduil, now he's a master." Fili leaned down and nipped at her lips, but she turned her head and he instead kissed her cheek and tried to chase his original target. His beard tickled hers and Teldu laughed and turned her head back and forth, trying to keep him from stealing the kiss even though she really wanted it.

They were both laughing when Nurbera walked in with an empty basket. The dwarrowdam's appearance had the laughter slowing until they dropped their arms and backed up two steps away from each other.

"Light of the day to you, Nurbera." Fili dipped his head, unabashed.

Teldu blushed lightly as her mother gave her a knowing look and pushed the basket into her hands. "Root cellar. Apples and cabbage." She shot a glance at the not-blushing and grinning too-widely blond. "Are you joining us for supper?"

"I like apples and cabbage." He said with a hopeful gleam in his blue eyes.

Nurbera nodded and looked at her daughter. "Enough for five." She turned and pushed her daughter away when Teldu didn't move quickly enough for her. "Now, you." She said as Fili started to move away, turning to face him head on.

Fili drew up expectantly. "Yes?"

"Nori."

The blond blinked. Nori? "Uhm?"

"Cleadeth came home the other day madder than a hen in a rain shower." Nurbera smiled, showing that she wasn't offended herself but was asking for information.

Fili ducked his head and shrugged. Oh. That. He did not want to tell Nurbera that Cleadeth had been acting the flirt to both Bofur and Nori, refusing to take the hint that the dwarrow were working. Until the red-bearded dwarf had swatted her backside and sent her on home to her 'hair bows and dolls'. "Nothing happened."

Nurbera's lips twitched as if she were fighting back a smile. She nodded. "That 'nothing' had her near spitting nails all night."

Now Fili blushed, feeling like an adolescent caught out of bounds by his mam or worse, his uncle. "Nori, he …doesn't have much patience for …. Well, she is a bit ….young."

"I'm under no illusions." Nurbera assured him, though she gave him a good hard look. "But tell your friend to watch his behavior."

Fili had never felt less regal or arrogant in his life as he found himself making promises to the sturdy dwarrowdam. This was Teldu's mother, and she could make life very difficult for him.

"Do you like pecans?"

The change of subject had the blond nodding absently.

"Good. You can help me crush some for dessert."

Fili shook his head, he had lists of things to do today and he explained that to her very nicely.

Nurbera wasn't impressed. "Was any of those items on your lists to help hang out my wash? Tease my daughter? Get yourself invited to dinner?"

Blue eyes watched her cautiously as he shook his head slightly.

"If you can make time for those, you can help me sort the pecans while you fill me in on your friend Nori." She raised her eyebrows at him, basically in challenge. "It won't take but a minute or two."

Suddenly Fili realized that if Teldu married him, this dam would be his in-law for the rest of their days. He suddenly smiled his most winning and charming smile. If he backed down now, it would set a very bad precedent. "I'd be happy too." He presented her his arm in order to escort her into the kitchen.

Nurbera blinked and wondered if she'd just lost control of the situation. In the next few minutes he learned everything there was to know about Dern's cousin's pecan trees. He learned about Nurbera's parents and how Dern had built this house for her. But in that time before the prince took his leave, she'd learned almost nothing about Nori.

Teldu came back in with her basket full and started to wash the vegetables. While Cleadeth came back in from taking Dern his afternoon lunch.

Nurbera stared at the bowl of pecans and sighed. "Teldu? Are you sure you want him? He won't be easy."

Cleadeth giggled lightly. "Lion." She sang out in a teasing manner. "Definitely a lion."

"I'm sure, mam. Maybe. It won't be easy." Teldu told her with a tiny grin. "But, if things work out, he's all a dwarrowdam could wish for."

Nurbera raised her eyebrows at that pronouncement. Well, it looked like her daughter wasn't sure of the political circumstances. Which was wise. But she was sure that she wanted him. Which might not be as wise as all that. "Oh dear."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel sat in her favorite chair, a book in her lap and Astald asleep at her feet. Yet the lamp was unlit and she was staring out the window at the enclosed courtyard though it was heavy night.

She head him coming before he'd even entered the room, though she did not stir. A steaming mug of tea was placed next to her on the table before her husband moved to sit on the low stool in front of her chair.

Tauriel continued to stare out the window as Kili drew off her left boot, making sympathetic noises at the swelling of her ankles. He began to knead her calf and leg, moving on down to the arch of her foot and then her toes.

"I was being awful."

His hands paused as she spoke, and then she sensed as he shook his head and began the ministrations once more. "He was being frustrating, I'm sure."

"Offer me no excuses." She snapped harshly, then stilled as she winced. "I am sorry." She continued in a much gentler voice.

His thumbs dug into the ball of her foot and she nearly groaned at the ache which felt so good.

"I don't know what is wrong with me."

Kili snorted, drawing her eyes to his face at last. He flicked his own chocolate eyed gaze to her swelling belly and she sighed. "I feel like I'm in a fog and can't think straight half the time. My temper seems unbalanced and I can't filter my words."

"The healers say everyone reacts differently to pregnancy. And you carry a mixing of Dwarven and Elven. There is no treatise on what to expect."

"I expect to have a baby and still have friends and family …and a husband, if I don't drive them away first." She sounded almost despondent.

He grinned and she crossed her eyes at him, temper rising. He pointed at her and shook his finger with a grin. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You will if I take a blade and….." She stopped, her green eyes going blank as she clapped a hand over her mouth.

He laughed.

She swatted at him. "It's not funny!"

"Fili wants to know what you think of going to the Ranger left in town. Having him send a bird to Rivendell. Lord Elrond is possibly the foremost healer left in all of Arda. And he is a product of Human and Elven blood."

Tears flooded her eyes, threatening to fall. Horrified to cry over nothing, Tauriel looked away, biting her tongue. Kili gave her the time she needed to compose herself, waiting for her to answer as he finished with the left foot and turned to take the right into his lap.

"I think, not yet." Tauriel waved a hand vaguely in front of her. "The more people that know of us, the more in danger you are."

"We would not want you or the babe at risk, not at the any cost." Kili countered, running his hand deliberately up behind her right knee and tracing a line back down with a super light touch.

Tauriel's breath caught and hitched. Her hands came down on the arm rests of her chair and she arched her back. Her skin was super sensitive these days, and her husband knew it only too well.

The warmth of his touch seemed to send a fire through her blood and she looked at him, her green eyes lighting up with greed. He laughed again, this time delighting in her response to him.

"You did that on purpose!"

"Of course." He admitted without remorse even as repeated the gesture, making her back arch and pushing her pregnancy plumped bosom upwards. "Your temper might be sharp, I'll admit, but I love this affect being pregnant has on you."

"Reprobate." She panted, drawing her foot back so she could lean forward and capture his face between her hands.

"Absolutely." He laughed, taking her lips with his own.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Queen Rilna put down her knitting, staring at her poor husband as he paced back and forth and back again. "I'll have to commission a new rug by tomorrow if you keep that up. The least you could do is not live up to your name."

He glared at her, but didn't stop moving.

"Ironfoot." The dwarrowdam tutted her tongue in false consternation. "Might as well take a blade to the rug. Maybe if you left off the boots."

Dain stopped this time, sending her a harsh glare.

Rilna smiled sweetly and quite pointedly put her hand on top of her swelling belly. Right over their son and heir. A child they'd desperately wanted for years.

Dain's eyes couldn't help but follow her hands, as she'd intended.

"We should celebrate the good news." She reminded him. "Though what that would entail, I'm not sure. I'm not allowed to dance, or drink, or revel, or even lie with you."

Dain sighed, knowing she was trying to tease him from his foul mood. "The healers all agree that after all you've been through, that you should take it easy." He didn't want to dwell on the several miscarriages throughout their marriage, and how it had wrung out both of them.

"Princess Dis is a strong-willed and smart dwarrowdam. Dwalin is your cousin and he would do nothing to harm her. Nothing." Rilna reminded him. "It was difficulty for her to be here. As much as I would have loved to have eased her sorrow, being here in Erebor was a trial that poor dam shouldn't have had to endure."

Dain grumped and growled and shook his head. He did not want to worry his wife about stupid prophesies and possible futures. He didn't want her to dwell on Mordor or Sauron in particular. He would have loved to have focused on nothing more than … "Thorin."

Rilna hummed and looked up at him.

"We've named the baby before his birth." Dain stared at her, shocked that he'd been so distracted that he'd missed the obvious.

"And you call me superstitious." Rilna scoffed. "The child's True Name will not be given until he is held by you. Don't be tied down by the old ways."

Dain rubbed his face with both of his hands, feeling empty on the inside. He ached with the worry over Erebor and the possibility of the kingdom failing. Because of him. Because he wasn't enough. Because he'd fallen victim to the gold sickness of his family.

Once, he remembered with sickening clarity, while in the middle of that very mind-sickness he'd disparaged the thought that it even COULD reach him. He wasn't of Durin's direct line. Yet … Dain's head came up, wondering. Did the fact that he had succumbed to the gold-fever mean that the Line of Durin continued through him?

"Safe." He whispered to himself, his wife not catching the word as she watched him with worry. Gandalf said the Line was safe. His eyes fell to the rounded form of his wife, and the child nestled so warmly within her body.

Yes. Yes …no. Dain blinked. Gandalf had then asked if he'd meant Dis. As if there were anyone else to ask about. As if …. Dain turned and fled his chambers, his wife calling after him, bewildered.

Dain had to stop and ask his guards for directions, which actually didn't sit well with him. The one he was looking for should have been by his side, and wasn't. Because he wasn't Thorin. Or had he pushed aside the dwarf, because he'd been afraid he wasn't enough like Thorin to be followed by … "Balin?" He tapped on the door.

The white-bearded counselor looked up from his book, then quickly stood and bowed.

Dain waved at him to resume his seat, though Balin continued to stand. Now. How to ask? The king licked his lips.

"Sire. I have to tell you, I cannot tell you where Dwalin and the Lady have gone."

Dain nodded, then nodded again. "Because you asked him not to tell you? Or because you made vows not to do so?"

"I do not know where." Balin replied quite plainly and with sincerity.

The king nodded. "When they do let you know of that final destination, and if I promise not to ride after them, will you let me know?"

Balin gave the king a sorrowful look, and seemed to steel himself. Ready for Dain's legendary temper.

The king stared at him, more uneasy than he'd ever been in any battle. Ever. He sighed. "The Line ….is it safe?"

Balin's eyes went wide and he sucked in a shocked breath, which was nearly answer enough for the king. Dain strode forward catching the white-bearded dwarrow by the shoulders. He moved so that they were nearly touching foreheads and yet his words were so low that Balin had to strain to hear him. "I am not a threat."

Balin's head dipped in acknowledgment, his cheeks burning. "Not now."

Dain hissed, but nodded as well as he took the meaning and bitterly recognized the truth of that statement. He thought about it for a lengthy time, though neither dwarrow dared to move. "Go."

Balin shook his head, his heart aching.

"I cannot trust you." Dain told him harshly. "You are not now, and have never been with me."

"Sire!"

"No. I will not hunt you, I will not betray you, or the Line …even if it is less than honorable."

Balin sucked in a breath, realizing the king was thinking that either Thorin or one of his nephews had been having a liaison.

"Perhaps we can reunite." Dain said, thinking aloud. "But right now Mordor breathes down our necks. In secrecy the Line may thrive?"

Balin jerked his head in acknowledgment.

"Your army, that you gather …."

The white-bearded dwarrow nearly wept as he shook his head. "That is for Moria, not for …not against you."

"I wish to believe you." Dain said emphatically, his voice a rough whisper of sound. "For right now, before I change my mind. Go."

Balin nodded hastily.

"The rest of the Thorin's Company?" Dain asked. "Are any with me?"

"Few know, even among those I would trust. Fewer agree on any course."

Dain nodded carefully, then gave a grimacing smile. "I will celebrate this good news later. For it is the best of news, even if it means my destruction."

"No, sire. No." Balin denied the charge. "There are no such plans or thoughts. Khazad-dum."

Startled, Dain shook his head. When the white-bearded advisor nodded, the king bit out an oath. "That way is death."

"So was Erebor." Balin asserted. "Blood will not fight blood."

Dain drew back slightly, staring intently into the eyes of the other dwarf. Weighing his sincerity most carefully. Finally he nodded. "Raise him well, Balin." He hesitated then when he would have asked which of the three could have fathered such a child, Balin sealed his lips and shook his head. Dain grimaced, but backed off. "Take whom you need and go. Be well."

"Be well, majesty." Balin nodded and bowed deeply.

"Am I? King Under the Mountain?" Dain asked bitterly.

"You are."

The crowned monarch gave the counselor a loaded look, as if to ask why Balin had not followed him as he had Thorin. Why look to another, especially one of less than savory beginnings.

Balin had no answer to give, not without giving away more than he was willing.

For in the end, neither really trusted the other. Not enough.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	42. The Vows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning of minor character (OC) death ....

Bofur bustled around the kitchen, wiping his hands on the apron he wore. It wasn't a pretty thing, the hem was more or less straight but the fabric was rather dull and pieced together, faded with the ties fraying a bit at the ends.

Tauriel frowned, feeling unsettled as she eyed the busy dwarrow. She stared at the apron as if she'd never seen it before. Intellectually she knew it had been in a stack of rags that Bofur had acquired when he'd been looking for fabrics. Yet somehow today it suddenly struck her as terribly sad. "It's unloved." She said mournfully, even as she wondered where these feelings were coming from.

Fili looked up from pouring the milk he'd gotten from their pair of goats kept in a sheltered pen outside. The largest mug he placed carefully before the pregnant she-elf, who looked less than thrilled. "Your stomach alright this morning?" He asked, his sapphire eyes checking her color for any hint of either pale or green. Seeing her cheeks flush, but not too rosy, he nodded at her.

The red-head nodded in return, though her eyes seemed to glisten a bit more than normal.

Glistening? Fili straightened up in alarm. They needed no more tears. It wasn't a problem to Tauriel, really. Nurbera and the other dwarrowdams had explained that sometimes pregnancy made a female cry for very little reason and not to worry.

The problem was Kili. It tore him up to see his wife cry. For any reason.

"What's unloved?" The blond asked warily, trying to follow the red-head's line of sight only to have the elf shake her head as if to clear away the thoughts.

"Never mind. It's just an ugly apron." Tauriel reached for her milk, draining half the mug immediately. Fili pushed the pitcher closer to her. She frowned and sent a side-ways look toward Bofur. Her bottom lip trembled, straightened, and then she looked away again.

The hatted dwarf brought over a platter of sausages, breads, eggs, and cheese with a beaming grin. That grin started to fade as he noted the alarm on Fili's face, and followed those blue eyes to the pretty red-head. He stiffened, seeing no tears but a sad expression. "What?"

"I think the apron is unloved or something." Fili said in a low voice, casting his gaze first to Bofur and then toward the entrance to the kitchen where he expected Kili to come bounding through at any moment.

Bofur didn't even question the nonsense statement, knowing the real issue of the moment. "Unloved? I'm wearing it. What if I hug the apron?" He wrapped his arms around himself.

Tauriel snorted at the silliness and shook her head, listening for the sounds of her husband's footsteps. She started to stand. "I can head out early." She offered even as she grabbed a piece of sausage and bread to wrap it in.

Fili shook his head, gently pressing on her shoulder to reseat the she-elf. "He'd only follow."

"What if'n the apron isn't unloved, it just needs a mate?" Bofur offered hesitantly. "I can trade for another apron. Shouldn't be hard to find."

Tauriel started to nod, stopped, eyed the apron in question and frowned. Her green eyes misted even more, making both dwarrow shuffle their feet uneasily. "No, the new apron would be prettier and nicer than this one. How would that be fair?"

"You're prettier and nicer than Kili is, but you'n two make a great couple." Bofur pointed out, then winced as the sad expression on the she-elf's face turned rocky. "What if I make a second apron, and distress it, it won't be too pretty." He vowed.

Voices. Out in the hallway. Nori and Kili.

"You humor me." Tauriel protested without heat even as she nodded quickly, getting a relieved look from both Fili and Bofur just as the two newcomers came into the kitchen. The three heads, blond, red-haired, and brunet, all moved away from each conspiratorially as they settled onto the benches.

Greetings for the day were offered very informally as plates were filled without ceremony and room was made for everyone at the table. They'd all seemed to fall into a rhythm, and the first meal of the day was always served in the kitchen instead of the dining area. It suited them and no one questioned how it had come about.

Nori sniffed his food appreciatively and put salt onto his eggs before even tasting them, drawing a huffing protest from Bofur. Kili grinned and shoveled the first bite into his mouth. Nori grunted and rudely pointed his fork at Tauriel.

"What's crazy been up to this morning? She looks ready to cry. Again." Nori then calmly took a large bite of cheese and toasted bread.

Kili stiffened, turning to glare first at his wife, then Nori, and then his face fell as he glanced back at Tauriel. "Love?"

At the pitiful sound of his brother's voice, Fili reached over and punched Nori in the shoulder. Which only served to knock a lone sausage off of the ginger-bearded dwarrow's plate.

Tauriel's eyes followed the lone sausage and she pressed her lips together hard.

"The sausage isn't lonely or unloved." Bofur intercepted the rolling link, as well as the she-elf's look of consternation. He popped the bit of food into his mouth, chewing around his smile as if to demonstrate his point.

Nori rolled his eyes and in retaliation reached over and snagged a buttered roll off of Bofur's plate. The hatted dwarf decided to let the intrusion go without remark, his melting gaze upon the lone female in their midst. "Tauriel?"

"I am crazy." The she-elf sighed, shaking her head. "I can't help it."

Kili started to wrap his arm around her, only to have her shake her head and shift her back to block the move.

Nori grinned, shoveling more eggs into his mouth even as he rudely kept speaking. "She's not crazy. She's pregnant. Kili, you can't keep coddling her so much. If she feels like crying, let her cry. Bofur, you tell him."

The hatted dwarf shoved a large piece of cheese into his mouth, pointed at it and shook his head as if to say he couldn't speak at the moment.

Nori rolled his eyes and swallowed his food, so at least crumbs weren't flying everywhere as he spoke. "Let the lass breathe. You can't fix everything that is going to be saddening her right now, and she's not even half through the pregnancy."

Fili sipped his own milk, pinning the red-bearded dwarf with his gaze. "When did you become an expert on pregnant females?"

Nori grinned and shrugged. "Remember when Nurbera gave us all that talk on what to expect the other night? I actually listened rather than play 'catch the eye of the pretty lass'." He said, referring to Teldu who'd been with her mother that day.

Tauriel snorted with a soft smile, drawing relieved looks from all the males. "He caught the eye of the pretty lass." She commented with a teasing manner. "And maybe that's not all he caught."

The heavy laughter at his expense caught Fili a bit by surprise as he sat back and chewed his food, blue eyes moving from one amused face to the other. He swallowed. "How did this come back on me?" He asked, taking another helping of eggs.

Kili grinned, shrugged, and winked at his older brother.

"My eggs are too salty. Bofur what did you do to them? Did you learn nothing from your brother? Bombur wouldn't have made a mistake like this." Nori asked, looking disgusted as he took another roll instead.

Bofur sat back, sputtering and waving his arms while he protested the completely unfair and slanderous comments.

"Alright?"

Tauriel turned her head toward her husband, tracing the lines of his beard stubbled face as he watched her anxiously. Her muscles, which she hadn't even realized were taut, relaxed under Kili's melting dark gaze.

His hand came up to cup the side of her face, his thumb sliding smoothly across the delicate skin underneath her eye. No tears, though her green gaze seemed suspiciously bright. He smiled at her softly. "Am I crowding you?"

Tauriel bit her bottom lip and then shrugged so lightly as if not to dislodge his hand from her face. "Perhaps a bit." Was all she'd tell him though.

Kili nodded, moving his hand away from her. More swiftly than the eye could follow, she'd captured his palm with both of hers. He stilled, raising a brow at her when she said nothing.

Tauriel sighed unhappily and put his hand back up to her face. "If you are crowding me, please don't stop."

Kili grinned while Nori muttered under his breath and Bofur studiously ignored the two. Fili rolled his eyes while Nori switched plates with him without asking. He tasted the eggs and frowned. "They really are too salty."

Bofur huffed and pointed accusingly at Nori while breakfast continued in the Coppernose house.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Balin looked over the lists of things he had to prepare in order to leave. Leave Erebor. It stung, being ordered to go. Especially after he and the others had worked so hard to recover the kingdom, now they were the ones ordered to leave?

Dori sat still, brooding. "Surely the king will let us wait until the weather is better suited for travel?"

The white-bearded dwarrow shrugged sadly. "I don't think so. Especially since Dwalin was able to make his leave without difficulty."

With Dis. That part went unsaid as Dori nodded with a tight grimace. "We just got here." He said, almost to himself, unknowingly echoing some of Balin's own thoughts.

"I feel the same way." Their dream had always been Erebor. Reclaiming the mountain and the treasure. But without Thorin here with them, the victory seemed hollow at best. In fact, it might have been easier of Kili and Fili had died as well, as loathsome as that thought was. Putting an end to those dreams. But with those two still alive and well, it nearly forced the air from his lungs every time he saw Dain in his crown.

"I itch." The weaver sighed heavily. "Uneasy, it burns."

Balin turned sad eyes over toward his friend and distant cousin. Well, Thorin's cousin actually. He shook his head regretfully. Dori and his brothers where connected to Thorin as cousins. He and Thorin were cousins through another side of the family, but there were no real links between Dori and himself. Except those they'd forged together on their mad quest. And those links had been solidified with dragon fire and blood. Mithral wasn't even as strong as those particular bonds.

"I am sorry that Dwalin dragged you inside of this." Balin said slowly, feeling the other out.

"I'm not." Dori's head snapped around to glare daggers at the other dwarrow. "I resent not having known sooner."

Balin nodded solemnly. If their positions had been reversed, he'd probably feel the same. "Still, it forces you to leave Erebor."

"Ori." The weaver sighed with deep sorrow. "He doesn't know what to think about all this." A pause, and an admission. "I haven't explained. He would have a hard time containing himself. But I would not leave him here on his own devices, especially with Dain looking hard at us all."

Balin nodded, realizing that Dori hadn't told his younger sibling yet that the Line continued.

"Bifur packs and will be ready. Bombur." Dori stalled, thinking of the rotund dwarf. "He has requested a meeting with King Dain." He paused. "With Dain." He amended, dropping the all-important word.

"King Dain." Balin reaffirmed strongly, drawing a frown from the other dwarrow. Though it soured his own stomach. "Dain is a fine leader and an exemplary dwarf. He banished the sickness from his mind and his heart beats for this kingdom, and all dwarves."

Dori nodded, feeling torn. "I felt the same …before I knew."

Before knowing that the Line lived on.

"We're not …." Dori licked his lips, unsure of how to ask without asking. "The quest is over, isn't it?"

The white-bearded counselor shook his head quickly, understanding immediately. Were they gearing up for civil war? "I don't know the future, I don't pretend to have any answers. But blood shouldn't fight blood."

Dori nodded. "Do you think that …King Dain …will allow Bombur to stay?" He thought of the forge master with his wife and young children. It would be a dire hardship on the dwarven father, whether he left the family here or brought them along. He knew how Bombur had been so happy his sons were thriving beneath the mountain.

Balin shrugged, though considering Dain's temper, he had his doubts. The king hadn't been ranting and raving with surface temper. No, Dain had felt betrayed. Anger could have been overcome easier than hurt.

"Gloin isn't back yet." Dori pointed out, referring to the thickly red-bearded merchant and warrior.

Balin put down his lists, sighing heavily. "Gloin will be a problem." He admitted.

The crafter looked at him balefully. "Everything is a problem right now. You think he will be angry about being shoved out of Erebor right after negotiating favorable deals with the Steelbeard clans?" Dori made a sound at the back of his throat. "Yes. He will be, but HOW deeply angry will be the question."

"Yes, that is the answer, but not the right question." At Dori's confused look he sighed. "He will be very angry. Perhaps angrier than you." Balin spoke carefully, turning his eyes deliberately onto the other dwarrow with great weight given to his words.

Dori stiffened for a moment, his face going blank. Then shock hit him as his mouth dropped open, though no sound emerged. He pointed at the other male and then dropped his hand as he mourned, his eyes closing. "How could you not tell him? How could Oin not tell him?"

Balin shrugged. "He wouldn't have agreed to hiding. He would have stood right there and battled it out. It's why Dwalin didn't know from the first either. Easier to get those two to wait when they don't know that's what they are doing."

Dori stared, nonplussed. He sighed heavily, not having realized that Dwalin wasn't a part of the original plan. "It's a wonder you're still alive."

Balin grimaced and nodded, thinking about his brother's fury once things had been explained to him. He doubted Gloin would react any better. "Let us not focus on the future for one moment and simply get ourselves packed."

Dori made a face as if he wanted to balk at the suggestion, but finally grumped and nodded. "Can we make use of storage here? Send for our things later?"

The white-bearded dwarrow shook his head sorrowfully. "Best not. We'd have to tell them where to send our things, and that's not really a good option at the moment."

"Ah." Dori nodded regretfully thinking of the larger looms he'd been working with lately.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Thought I'd find you here."

Teldu looked up at the sound of that particular voice, her hands coated in flour. The rumble of it went right through her deliciously, but her words of reply showed none of that. "It's the bakery. I'm the baker. Large leap of the imagination to think I might be found here." She said tartly as she mocked him openly.

"Aren't you surprised to see me?" Coaxed Fili as he leaned back against the counter, peering around into the open part of the shop. Gratified to see the human helper closing the business for the moment and settling up with the few remaining customers.

"Is it going to be like this every time the gate blows those damned horns?" Teldu griped. "As spring and summer come, those horns will be non-stop, you realize this, yes?" She barely waited for his nod, while ignoring the rather arrogant tilt to his smile. "You can't just close my shop every time newcomers arrive in town."

"Yes I can."

His arrogance could be truly appalling. "It's a TRADING town. People are in and out all the time!" She grabbed a clean towel and moved to clean off her hands. "Caravans come and go constantly and …" She turned to glare at him, finding him grinning widely. "…and you're having me on."

Fili held out one palm and waffled it back and forth a bit. "We're trying to work out a better system once travel picks back up. But for right now, dwarves are arriving according to the horns and your shop is closed until we hear further news."

"And Da is checking on the new arrivals?" She asked, already knowing the answer, however. Teldu finished cleaning herself and her work area then glanced over at the blond still leaning against her counter. "Have you had lunch?"

Deep sapphire eyes sparked with interest and she saw he was reluctant to answer. "Yes." How did he manage to put so much disappointment into one word?

She gave a small laugh as she decided to take pity on him. "Something sweet then?" Teldu picked up one of the linen cloths and took her time in selecting a raspberry jelly roll made from preserves she'd put up herself last summer. She felt him move up behind her and she stilled, waiting to see what he'd do next.

His touch, when it came, was not tentative or unsure. His palm flattened along the small of her back and trailed over to her hip, drawing her closer to him as she turned. Teldu looked up into Fili's face, finding him smiling down at her as he leaned in and stole a kiss. He'd been doing that a lot, actually. And it stole her breath every time. When he drew back he was beaming with pride and arrogant assurance as if he KNEW the effect he had on her.

Not liking that he thought he had her figured out, she gave him a good hard look. "If you say something corny about me being sweeter than dessert I will brain you with this."

Fili blinked, taken aback. Then he barked out a laugh while trying to pluck the jelly roll from her fingers until she moved her hand back away from him. "That's mine." He demanded with a grin that displayed his dimples to perfection.

"Not yet." She teased, swinging her arm away from her body.

As she knew would happen, he captured her arm easily. But instead of taking the jelly roll from her he brought it, and her hand, to his mouth. Sapphire eyes fixed upon her own eyes as he slowed his movements to a sensual crawl. His mouth opened and she felt the heat of his breath upon her hand as he took a bite, deliberately including her fingers as he nibbled around them, taking the time to lick the now dripping jelly.

"Ugh!" She protested on instinct alone, though butterflies were now dancing in her stomach and her breath was catching. He drew back and suddenly she could have kicked herself for protesting at all. It took all she had not to beg him to continue.

She shouldn't have worried that he was through though. "It's good." Fili whispered, letting his lips lean back in and find hers. She didn't make him work for the kiss, meeting him halfway. He tasted of raspberries, and something hotter, spicier. A taste that was wholly him. She smiled against his lips even as she shivered lightly. His hand on her hip tightened, pulling her even closer. "Tonight?"

"No." She breathed, her heart beating as if she had just run the length and breadth of the town. Thrice.

He laughed darkly, the sound pulling quivers of pleasure from places inside her she'd never knew existed. "I meant your parents are coming over for dinner, with you and your sister. What were you thinking I was asking about?"

If he thought to tease a shy young maid, he was only partially right. Teldu knew herself to be inexperienced, but that did not make her a simpering ninny embarrassed at how she felt. "I thought you were talking about meeting in private. To do private things." Her clean hand reached over and pushed his arm down so that his palm was no longer curved over her hip, but upon lower things.

Fili drew back and the stunned look in his blue eyes had her laughter pealing out loudly. Having thought she'd won, she started to step back. Only to realize that in her supposed victory, she'd gone and lost the war. He growled, his hand tightened and suddenly the hand on her butt was pressing her up against his body tighter than she'd imagined possible. His clothing and leathers prevented her from feeling what she knew had to be there, which relieved and irritated her both at the same time. His hips moved, rubbing against her in a way that signaled that he was feeling the same way she was.

Speaking was not an option, not with his tongue in her mouth, tasting her deeply as a ragged moan somehow escaped her. Gone was the playful side of Fili, now it was all dark heat and an aching emptiness she'd never felt before. Fire licked at her from inside her veins as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh for … STOP THAT!"

At the barked order, both young dwarves slowly seemed to come back to themselves. They didn't exactly jump apart, although both recognized the peeved tones of Dern, Teldu's father. Neither would they admit that they hadn't heard him enter the back of the bakery. However, the two did draw back from each other slightly, but not much.

"I've asked her to marry me." Fili said, his voice a rough grumble that did wicked things to her insides. Reminding the father that he wasn't exactly being inappropriate.

"Never mind that, I'm of age, father." Teldu reminded him, although now, speaking to her da, she was starting to feel embarrassed. She was sure she was blushing outrageously now, which only irritated her. She started to step back further, only to find that Fili wasn't ready to let go. Not willing to fight him on it, she stood where she was.

Dern stared at the two, clearly unsettled. He crossed his arms and glared at them. "I will take great pleasure in reminding you of this moment should you two ever make it through the wedding and have a little dwarrowdam of your own." He coughed and shook his head as neither seemed eager to soothe a father's ruffled feathers. Or let each other go. "Would it change matters if I said your mother was going to be here at any moment?"

Teldu did indeed flush hotter and shifted as if to move back. Fili though just grinned. "Nurbera likes me."

Dern smiled and raised one eyebrow in response and then rocked back on his heels for a second, looking anticipatory. "I was speaking about your mother, Fili."

The blond's hands immediately dropped, which wasn't good for Teldu as she'd still been trying to push herself back. A startled sound that was suspiciously high pitched escaped her as she nearly fell. At the last second Fili's hand was catching her arm to help her keep her balance. Though in all that startled movement her hand opened and the remaining portion of the squished jelly roll dropped unceremoniously onto Fili's right boot.

Everyone looked down and the blond cursed without heat as he took a deep breath. Right in time for the back door of the bakery to open and let Dwalin move inside, followed closely by the Lady Dis. Snow flurried about them lightly as the warrior shook off his woolen cloak.

Dis didn't even bother as she spied her eldest staring at her as if she were an apparition. Her eyes took him in an instant. Erect posture, bright eyes, good color …the very picture of perfect health. Unlike when she'd seen him last. "Fili!"

"Mam?!" The blond's face broke out into an ecstatic grin. Next to him a dwarrowdam was anxiously tugging on her tunic and blushing brightly. She had some sort of sticky substance on one of her hands and she was reaching for a cleaning rag.

Dis blinked. She saw the look on Fili's face and the carefully neutral expression on that of the dwarrowdam. The mother blinked owlishly and smiled. "You have jam in your beard." She pointed at her own face to indicate where she meant.

The younger dwarrowdam went completely red in the face, which was interesting. And telling.

"His boot too." Dwalin sighed knowingly, his demeanor giving away nothing of his feelings. His eyes missed nothing as he scanned the room with his usual caution.

Fili crossed the room and had his mother in his arms before she could draw breath to say anything else. "Mam." He whispered next to her ear as he held her tightly.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Saruman's face was pale beyond the usual for the White Wizard. He listened to the words coming through the palantir. "I was following your orders in letting the princess live." He held his back stiffly as he tried to deflect Sauron's ire away from himself.

It didn't work. The 'voice' emanating from Mordor made his stomach curdle and churn, though no evidence of this was visible on his face or body. It seemed Sauron felt that the wizard should have ensured that Dis had arrived safely, and placed under their control, rather than allowing her to escape.

"The Line continues, as we are now made aware." Saruman spoke, his voice polished, courtly and in direct opposition as to how he felt on the inside. "And there was, it appears, a betrothal between the eldest heir of Thorin and some bearded dam." He let the words end there, deliberately not telling Sauron that Gandalf's letter had specified that the female in question was definitely not with child. Saruman would rather focus Mordor's eye on some ugly, distasteful dwarf than on him.

His 'conversation' with Sauron continued with repressive orders being given in the Deceiver's usual overbearing manner. Finally, Mordor let him go.

Saruman flexed his long-fingered hands, feeling the urge to plunge them in fire in order to cleanse the stench of evil. Still. Serving was better than the alternative. Mordor was unyielding and relentless, despite what the White Counsel sought, there would never be a victory against Sauron, not a true one as the past so amply demonstrated. Destruction was inevitable. Unless you served.

The White Wizard turned to pour himself a glass of wine, taking the time to savor the excellent vintage so as to deceive himself that he didn't need it in order to stand steady. The use of the palantiri for speaking with Sauron always left him feeling rather hollow. It was fatigue, not despair, he mused to himself with a sniff.

Dis. He hadn't mentioned his suspicions about her to Mordor, not yet. He had used the former prince's betrothal to get Sauron focused elsewhere. Especially not wanting that attention on his losing track of Princess Dis. Certainly not.

Saruman sipped his wine elegantly, his gaze off in the distance as his mind spun round and round. If the dwarrowdam at Erebor was indeed pregnant with the Line's continuation ….why would Dis leave? No. That was senseless. She would want to be …with ….the ….child?

Saruman stilled, his mind circling the thought and finding no flaw in his logic. Dis knew where the Line was, and had gone there. If he found Dis, he'd find the scion of Durin's Line.

World-weary eyes slid sideways toward the palantir. The thought was less than a second long before he turned away. No. He would not share this information with Mordor, not yet. Sauron was already too displeased with him in letting Dis slip through his fingers, why compound that into a full-blown rage?

Better to locate the Lady and the child and take care of it himself, then present the accomplishment to Sauron like a gift. Especially while Mordor's great eye looked in other directions.

Yes. That would work.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili's muscles flexed as he positioned the hides he was tanning to be stretched, it was an important and tedious part of the process. They'd been treated and now needed to dry in order to soften properly.

Tauriel looked up, watching as the wind caught his dark waves, the winter sun shining down on them. She smiled, even as she wondered about the recent arrival of unknown dwarves in Brookshire. She had been at home sewing baby clothes when the horns had sounded, with a few hours before she was to make the guardsmen drill with their bows. The sounding of those horns meant an immediate change of plans, as she knew her husband's protective instincts.

"We've heard nothing." Tauriel said quietly as Kili continued to work. She'd come out here knowing he'd be wanting to keep a protective eye on her until they knew who the travelers were. The red-head was also smart enough not to tell him that she felt more comfortable with her eyes protectively on him as well. Her lovely dwarven husband would not appreciate the sentiment.

Kili nodded, snugging one last line and frowning as he leaned back to inspect his work. Finally he grunted in approval and turned to see his wife cutting up a medium sized hide he'd set aside to make glue with. "Smaller than that." He instructed.

Tauriel shook her head, her hands moving methodically as she neatly cut out thin, long strips. "Makes them easier to remove."

"We use a strainer." The dwarrow prince objected.

"Not fine enough." The elf commented.

Kili walked over and opened a tool locker, pulling out a dedicated strainer of fine wires and even spacing. "Fili finished making this two weeks ago."

The she-elf eyed the strainer with bright green eyes, humming in approval. "I thought dwarves only made jewel encrusted weapons and decorative pieces."

Kili heard the teasing in her voice and rolled his expressive eyes. "You think I should set diamond chips around the outer edges of my glue strainer?"

Tauriel pretended to think it over, then shook her head negatively. "Topaz or amethyst will be fine."

The dark-eyed dwarf blew out a disreputable noise, his tongue caught between his lips with a smile shining from behind his warm gaze. "Moss opal or green quartz, those are my last offers."

Tauriel's head tilted to the side curiously. "I'm not familiar with moss opals."

Kili stiffened, looking behind her. Tauriel stood and turned, careful not to impede her husband's line of sight out of habit. She didn't even have to think about it, caution so much an ingrained part of her. Kili was beside her in seconds, though they both recognized the blazing glory that was Nori's ginger hair and beard against all winter white surrounding them. A hand signal had Kili relaxing.

"All is well?" Tauriel asked, for although she was learning Khuz-dul and the accompanying language of hand gestures, she wasn't yet proficient.

"We're summoned, with guarantee of safety." Kili told her with a wide grin.

"Guarantee of …safety?" Tauriel questioned as she followed the brunet back toward the main house.

Kili shrugged. "It's an Iglishmek sign. It's a way of informing someone you wish to speak with that no harm is meant and that you will protect them on forfeit of your honor."

Tauriel nodded, committing this new sign to memory. She frowned slightly. If her pregnant brain would let her. In the last few months she'd been having trouble remembering the proper order of Dwarvish runes, which the healer had assured her was not out of the ordinary. He'd actually laughed at her when she'd informed him that forgetting things was definitely out of the ordinary, for her.

They arrived at the house, on the back porch area where Kili was kicking off encrusted ice and snow from his heavy boots. "No." He didn't even look at her as she started to open the door. "Let me."

Tauriel eyed his back with a bit of venom in her gaze. "I was a Captain of the King's Guard for several hundred years before you were born."

"And in none of that time were you pregnant." He replied without heat, giving her a calm look finally. "And though Thranduil may have put the weight of his own life as being more important than yours, I assure you that I do not."

Her green eyes widened slightly with annoyance, but she backed off and gestured for him to lead the way. He bowed his head graciously towards her, his hand on the hilt of his long dagger. Behind him, she made sure she could reach all of her weaponry with ease.

Suddenly Kili stopped, frozen. Tauriel stared herself. Of all the possibilities, the appearance of Lady Dis in their kitchen here in Brookshire, was not one that had occurred to her.

"Let me see you!"

Kili grinned, rushing forward and grabbing his mother in a tight hug while everyone smiled happily. Tauriel moved forward as well, though hanging back somewhat.

Dwalin moved over next to her, his eyes serious as they swept over her. "You are well?"

The red-haired she-elf nodded gratefully at the bald warrior. "You had no troubles getting here?" A lot of unasked questions in her words, rather than what was spoken of on the surface.

Dwalin was no fool and immediately understood. "After the reunion. We'll all talk."

Kili was laughing and grinning as his mother pushed him back and started quizzing him on his health. Finding assurance in his appearance she turned back to look over at Tauriel. "Well? Are you going to let me see you?"

The she-elf blinked. The last time she'd been in Dis' presence the dwarrowdam had not been terribly pleased with her handfasting with Kili. Daggers had been involved.

"Come, come!" Dis gestured, her face an open picture of delight and anticipation. "Let go of the cloak!"

Ah. Tauriel nodded and slid the heavy winter covering off of herself and watching as Dis immediately frowned. "I'm small, but the babe grows healthy." She assured the expectant grandmother.

Dis nodded, her face clouding with worry as she approached. The dwarrowdam stopped right in front of Tauriel, looking up into those green eyes with caution.

Tauriel gestured for Dis' hand and then placed that hand on her belly. "He's sleeping at the moment. Seems to wake only when I try to sleep."

"He?" Dwalin and Dis echoed each other in their eagerness.

Kili groaned and walked up to put an arm around his mother. "Your son. Right here." He thumped his chest in good natured fun. "Now that we have a babe on the way, I'm no longer important?"

"Lad you did your part. Step aside now." Dwalin scoffed in his driest tone, letting the listener decide if he was serious or not.

Fili laughed outright while Kili made a face, though it was clear he wasn't upset. "He. Definitely a he. Did you know elves know immediately when they become pregnant, no worries about if or when?"

Dis shook her head, she hadn't known that. Her smile was soft though as she petted Tauriel's pregnancy belly. "Are you sure you're feeding her enough?"

The she-elf groaned as all the Brookshire dwarrow laughed, shaking their heads. "We try to stuff her, actually." Bofur admitted with a wide grin. "And try to get her to rest, I think half the time she's wanting to pull blades on us'n take us prisoner again."

"Some of you." Tauriel said with a blank face and dry tone, causing another round of raucous laughter.

"Names. We'll have to think on names." Dis said, her eyes suspiciously bright as she thanked the elf and stepped back, though with clear reluctance.

"Tea, mam?" Fili asked, moving over to the hearth to put on a kettle. "Dwalin? Ale?"

"Tea would be nice." Dwalin said swiping at his furs which were wet with melting snow now that he was inside. "Anything hot."

"I have a name." Tauriel said quietly, ignoring Kili's groan and the shake of his head. "But I assure you I've told no one."

Dis stilled, her eyebrows rising. She turned to look at her youngest in question. Kili smiled at her pleadingly, spreading his hands as if to indicate there was nothing he could, or would, do. "Tauriel knew she was pregnant from the first moment. And Elves choose names before the baby is born, as they count their ages from conception rather than birth."

"You told her it was considered bad luck?" Dwalin asked, frowning sharply.

"He did. They all did." Tauriel answered, her spine straight and showing no remorse. "But among my race it is considered ill not to recognize a child when we are aware of he or she from the start."

Being no slouch, Dis caught on immediately. "You name the child once gender is established within the womb."

"Well then?" Dis said with soft demand.

"Mam? It's bad luck." Fili pointed out.

Dis waved one hand in dismissal. "And when the child is born Kili can hold him and gift him with his Dwarven True Name." She looked at Tauriel but saw no disagreement, or surprise, and made a noise of approval. "Rilna has chosen Thorin as the name for her new child. This is a new age and there should be no room for superstition and nonsense."

"I don't want to know." Kili said, asserting himself as the father, beleaguered as the position might currently be. "I will wait."

"Then go in the other room." Dis told him before turning her eyes on the other males.

Kili lifted his head, his dark eyes flashing as he turned and headed out. "It's bad luck!"

"And you're too young to think like an old fool." Dis called out to him as he exited, with Fili and Nori close behind.

Dis looked at Bofur and then at Dwalin. Neither moved, though the hatted dwarf gave her a rather besotted grin. "I've been dying of curiosity. I don't want to know, not yet. But please, tell me you really didn't name the poor babe for the Bonethane?"

Dwalin visibly startled, shooting a horrified look at Tauriel. "Kukhir? No. That is not a good choice!"

"And that is not the name." Came the rather short answer from the pregnant she-elf, her hand moving protectively in front of her belly.

Dwalin immediately backed off, gesturing for Bofur to follow him. "Not the Bonethane?" He asked, just to be sure.

"Definitely not." The she-elf assured him as the two males left the room. She turned to look back at Dis. "Your tune has changed."

Dis gave her a lengthy look, then nodded. "You are carrying the next generation of Durin's Line. You married him properly?" It was both statement and question.

"I did. We did. We named our history before the Gamulalh so that the true bloodline could be spoken."

Dis' face cleared and she nodded as if thrilled with the news. "Well then, daughter of my line, mother of the blood, please …"

"Nain …. Cuthalion …."

Dis hesitated slightly, as if unsure. "Nain or Cuthalion?"

"Both." Tauriel's voice firmed. "Nain Cuthalion. Two names, two sides of his blood. The Elvish means either 'strong bow' or 'dauntless one'."

"Nain. Nain Cuthalion." The dwarrowdam hastened to add the second name lest she offend the mother-to-be. "Do I pronounce it right?"

"You do." Tauriel told her, still unsure of the reception, more uneasy with Dis' acceptance than she had been with the daggers on their first meetings.

Dis caught she-elf's hand in her own, beaming with pleasure. "A perfect name. You have chosen well, and it appears, so did my son."

"MAM!"

Dis sighed and gave a chagrined smile. "My son. Seems his patience is at an end. Come, let us meet and discuss how we all came to be here."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Banishing the Company is not the answer."

King Dain sat back in his throne, glaring at the Gray Wizard. "I will not have those not loyal to me surround me."

"They are loyal to you, just not to you only." Gandalf looked around the empty chamber as if to assure himself they were alone. "No one here looks to unseat you."

"I may not be the wizard's choice of king, nor the elves, nor the humans, nor anyone else in Arda. But I am the king here." Dain rose to his feet, his impressively wide chest gleaming with the jewels of office. At least what could be seen besides his impressive beard.

"I don't choose who rules, and have …."

"Don't you?" Came Dain's scornful comment. "Why hide this information from me?" He said, being deliberately vague in case anyone sneaky were listening in where they shouldn't be.

"To keep the 'information' safe." Gandalf stressed the word oddly, implying something other than what the pure definition.

Unfortunately Dain could read between the lines. The 'information' was the child carrying on the blood of Durin's direct lineage. He sneered.

"And not all of the Company know." Gandalf stressed lightly.

Dain nodded, having guessed that already. If young Ori knew he'd eat his own beard.

"The information would be safer if undue attention weren't paid, such as sending off the entire Company. It would place a target …." The wizard's words stalled as bells began ringing, at first one and then several. He looked toward Dain who was already on his feet and grabbing his great axe, his face pale as snow.

"Come wizard, we'll see whose side you fall on." He muttered ominously as he sped up. Pounding dwarven boots echoed through the stone passageways as they followed the alarm. "Are you sure this isn't one of your precious Company looking to cause harm before being tossed out into the snow?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"So, you two just slipped away?" Fili shook his head, smiling though with a hint of caution. "Was it too easy?"

"No." Dwalin grunted, relaxing with his hot tea and his feet up before the fire. "Nothing about travel in winter is easy, even with spring fast approaching. Add to that dwarrow on the lookout for ambush or worse? They weren't looking at us to try to escape. It wouldn't have occurred to them, especially as we weren't prisoners."

"So, what happens when you don't show up at Isengard?" Kili asked, sitting next to his mother on the sofa, her arm around him as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Nothing." Dwalin smiled lazily. "Where are they to look? We left no trail and false leads all over the place. Dain will most likely think we are hiding from Mordor."

"Or escaped together for a romantic liaison." Dis said smugly.

Kili's head came up as he turned a stunned look on his mother. Fili's mouth fell open as he looked back and forth between his mam and the bald warrior.

Dwalin snorted and closed his eyes. "Told Dain that was a ruse you played just to be able to speak privately."

Kili and Fili both relaxed slightly.

Dis made a rude sound and shook her head. "Wish you hadn't."

"He didn't really believe it anyway." Dwalin took a sip of the good, strong Dwarven tea.

"So. When do we start making plans to return to Erebor?"

"Kili?" Fili stared at his brother as if the brunet were suddenly a stranger. They'd not talked about this.

"Not now." Dwalin shook his head, unsurprised by the comment but not liking the timing.

"When?" Kili demanded, his jaw clenching. "This life isn't terrible, but it isn't ours." He made a hand gesture that had Bofur wincing and looking away. "My son should not be born in hiding, of who he is.

Fili shook his head. "We made vows not to return, under any circumstances.

"Vows made to me. And they can only be discharged by me." Dis said in a calm voice that gave no hint to the huge implications of her words. "Is that what you're looking for, Kili?"

Fili's breath caught as he turned to catch Tauriel's eyes, but the she-elf was staring back at him with a neutral expression that gave no hint to her thoughts. Had his brother discussed these dreams with her?

Dis scrubbed her face heavily with both hands. "It's not as easy as that. There are things you don't know."

"Mordor? We've heard." Kili stood, staring at each person in turn. "This hiding isn't any real way to live. Not without a goal, a purpose. Mam? Release the vows."

"It's your rightful place." Dis agreed sadly. "But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do."

"Thorin wouldn't agree."

"Thorin is dead!" Dis scowled up at her son. "And you're not. I'd like to keep you alive, and with jam in your brother's beard and dwarflings roaming around your feet."

Kili knelt down in front of his mother. "I can have all that. Fili can have the life he deserves. Tauriel can be safe. My children can grow up without shame. In Erebor."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Heartsore and grieving Dain strode into his throne room and screamed out his fury. He threw his great axe across the chamber, drops of blood and gore splattering across the stone.

Gandalf hesitated at the door, unsure how welcome his presence would be right now.

"She was an innocent." Dain's controlled voice was at odds with his nearly vibrating fury. "They butchered her! It wasn't an execution, there was nothing clean about her death."

Nothing. The wizard said nothing.

Dain shook his head and turned, holding up his hands. "Her blood. How do I tell this to my wife?" He glared at Gandalf balefully. "Well, aren't you going to explain to me how hiding your 'information' was just to prevent this kind of tragedy? How I should reconsider sending away Thorin's Company so as not to draw unwanted attention to that very same 'information'?"

The wizard's eyes were pools of wretched heartache. "You already know all of that."

"Damn you! They didn't just kill her and her escort, they gutted that poor child! To be sure that she carried no hidden 'information' in her womb that would one day sit this accursed throne!" Dain spun on his heels as he stared at the opulent seat of Dwarven royalty.

"They did not go after the Queen."

Dain stilled, the words shaking him to the core of his bones. He turned slowly, his eyes stoic and despairing. "No. And they could have." He sighed. "Will they think they've won now?"

Gandalf shrugged. "They succeeded in killing the poor dwarrowdam, but your warriors decimated them before they could escape. It is possible they thing they've eliminated the Line completely now."

Dain nodded cautiously. "Then again, they tore open her poor body. They knew she wasn't pregnant. If they managed to somehow get that message out …."

"Then Mordor will still be on the hunt." Gandalf confirmed the king's thoughts.

Dain cursed long and hard until finally falling silent. The wizard said nothing, simply waited. The Dwarven king shook his head. "Mordor is a closer threat than I'd thought possible." He admitted with great reluctance. "And by letting me be the king, you put that target on me and mine."

Rather than on Durin's Line. That part went unspoken between the two males of different races and cultures.

"I would help protect you and yours, if allowed. And I would not be the only one."

Gandalf's words hit the king deeply, and he grunted as he thought through his options. "The 'information' you hold is very dear, to not just the Dwarven race …but to me." Dain said, his voice a near whisper. "I am no coward to quiver before a threat, I am Khazad. Master of Stone and King of this mountain."

The wizard watched Dain with a proud smile. "That I had no doubts of."

"You just doubted whether I would fight a child of my own blood for this throne." Came the rather bitter response. Dain grunted and shook his head. "And you were wise to doubt, at one time."

The Gray Wizard nodded slowly, carefully.

"Bring me Balin!" Barked the King Under the Mountain, the guards at the door immediately relaying the order to runners. On their way out, they passed the openly weeping Queen as Rilna entered without ceremony her guards looking stone-faced and alert. Dain saw her and shook his head. "You should not be here."

"Tell me it's not true? My sweet Coryan? No, please ..."

Dain sighed unhappily, wishing with all he had that he could grant her what she wanted. He looked at Gandalf beseechingly, but the wizard was already calling for the healers. This kind of shock wasn't good for either the Queen or the babe. He moved swiftly to hold up his wife as he told her how sorry he was about the loss of her kin.

Rilna wailed and wept and no one, absolutely no one, told her of the gruesome nature of the poor lass' demise.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	43. Discussion

Kili knelt slowly down beside his mam's seat, earnestly taking one of her chilled hands between his own palms. Dark eyes nearly melted her with the deep intensity of his gaze. "Release the vows." It was a statement, a question, a demand, and a plea all in one.

Fili licked his suddenly dry lips, his own sapphire eyed gaze sliding around the room while gauging reactions. Bofur looked stoically pained while Nori seemed both sorrowed and hopeful at the same time. Neither would meet his eyes, though he wasn't sure if it was by design or being lost in their individual thoughts. Dwalin's expression was tired, bringing out the lines in his face starkly. It seemed as if the dwarven warrior had been expecting such, yet had been hoping otherwise. Then there was Tauriel. His brother's pregnant wife. Fili blew out a soft snort and shook his head. He couldn't tell what the she-elf was thinking, not with that neutral court-mask firmly in place. He'd seen more emotion in her eyes back when they'd first met and the Captain had helped take them prisoner.

With slow determination Dis turned her own gaze upon her eldest. Nearly matching blue eyes met and held as if she were waiting for his reaction. Did he agree with his brother? Where they a unit on this? Did she face the both of them or not? Fili drew in a shallow breath and shook his head, he was unsure of how he felt. No. He knew how he felt, but he was not easy with what that could mean.

The younger brunet followed his mother's look and saw Fili's head move in what could be seen as a negative reaction. Not waiting for what the older sibling had to say, Kili shook his own head. "No. Don't say no, just like that."

"I haven't said anything, yet." Fili protested sharply, his words angry with irritation at being caught unaware. Why hadn't Kili brought this up to him? Oh sure, they'd spoken in general several times, but neither had broached the subject of having their vows rescinded.

"This is vastly difficult …" Dis tried to soothe her youngest and the sharper edges of his temper, her hand squeezed his in what was meant as a soothing gesture.

Kili's anger usually was like a thunderstorm, and it could intensify or wain, yet leave devastating results. Unlike Fili, whose own temper was more likely compared to an earthquake, you didn't always have time to take shelter. Kili's hands tightened on her grip. "You think I am not aware? That I am a child seeking a sweet denied him?" His dark eyes widened with hurt, and yes, some resignation. "I am not a dwarfling with false ideals or dreams to be sent to bed with platitudes. I may have left home in such a manner, but am that dwarrow no more. I am about to become a father …"

"Exactly lad …" Bofur started, only to draw up short as the younger brunet shot him a cutting look he'd rarely seen on that usually jovial face. "Lad?"

"Prince." Kili turned back, first looking at Dis and then staring directly at his older brother. "And over there should be our king."

Fili felt as if the air in his lungs suddenly turned to stone, so heavy did he feel. And guilty. No, he and Kili had never really spoken on this matter, and if he were honest, it was because he'd avoided any such conversation. He'd not included his brother in his thoughts and vague plans, not ready to voice them, not yet. He'd known Kili would back up any decision he'd come to automatically, or he had assumed such. That may have been a bad mistake.

Kili stood, rising stiffly, doing a slow turn to himself look at everyone in the room individually while nearly vibrating with temper and hurt. He did not raise his voice, but the intensity of his words filled the room almost tangibly. "My son should not grow up hiding who he is, or what his name is, or even who his father is. He should not grow up ashamed to be my child." He put his hand over his heart, his dark eyes blazing. "Even when we were destitute, or unsure of the next meal, I always ….always had pride in my blood line. Durin's Line. Thorin never bowed before others, even when muddy, ragged or hungry and nearly begging for work. Why should we bow before any, especially our own kin? Let Dain hold what we fought for? What Thorin died for? What Dain did not even believe in until WE had made clear the way?"

Fili winced, recognizing the deep seated resentment in his sibling. For it was his own as well, truthfully. He had failed his brother, not including him. He'd thought to protect Kili, allow him some peace.

"My son? He will grow up a Coppernose?" The brunet's voice dripped with disdain. "He'll have treasure and comfort and love … as well as a life of hiding and cowardice and shame." He shook his head in denial and utter rejection of that thought. "How can that be my son's inheritance? How can I be that worm of a father?"

Bofur made a distressed sound, but did not interrupt again. His mobile features showing his indecision, and dislike of the words presented. Yet there was also a guilty cast to his face, as if he did not entirely disagree.

"When asked his heritage, will my child have to deny me? Deny my brother?" The brunet made a sweeping gesture toward Fili even as he turned and knelt down beside his mother once more. "You, Gandalf, the others …you bullied us and pushed us and made us make vows …all while we were sore wounded and near to death. It was wrong. Mam, please. See that it was wrong."

"Are you so unhappy here?" Dis tried, and failed, to smile. Her sapphire eyes, nearly identical to her brother, filled with unshed moisture. She started to brush a lock of his wavy hair and then stilled as he flinched back from her. From her. "Kili?"

The young dwarf didn't even look behind him at his wife, his eyes on his mother's face. "Unhappy? Paltry wording. Could I live here? Yes. Could I be happy, yes? Would I be a coward if I stayed …. Yes. Mistake me not, I don't hate this town, or the life here. But it is a lie."

"Your son deserves…." Dis began, but Kili grimaced, stilling her words before they were spoken aloud.

"My son deserves to be born in Erebor. It is what we fought for, what we WON. How can he grow up safe here? Stone walls?" Kili sneered. "He needs a stone mountain, a kingdom, an army. You claim Mordor is after us? Then what protection does this town actually offer? I may have been content to play out a role as a Coppernose for myself, but every day that my son grows he becomes more real to me. Every day I know with more certainty that I will not allow him to be the son of a coward in hiding."

"He's right."

Everyone swung their gazes upon Fili as the blond shook his head ruefully. "And he's also wrong."

Kili glared at his elder brother, his jaw setting mulishly.

"We shouldn't be in hiding." Fili continued, ignoring the stubborn cast upon his brother's face. "But we can play at being Coppernose until we claim our heritage once more. That is not cowardice, it is prudence. Uncle Thorin waited until his chance presented itself, we can do the same."

Kili's sudden grin near split his face as the others all murmured a token protest. Except for Dwalin, who was watching with interest, and Tauriel, who looked as if she were carved of out of granite.

"But that heritage will not be Erebor." The blond contininued while Kili's grin faded into a look of heated betrayal. Fili shook his head at his younger sibling. "You weren't with me when meeting with Galadriel and Gandalf. You did not hear the death knells in their future sight. For our race. You cannot fathom. And I while I was willing to wrest Erebor from a dragon, I am less favorably consigned to pitting blood against blood. Civil war. Longbeard against Longbeard. What Mordor can't do to destroy us, will we do unto ourselves?"

"We are the rightful Line! The dwarrow will rally to us!" Kili straightened, every inch the proud warrior.

"Aye? All of them? Or will cousin fight cousin? Brother fight brother? Will you order good dwarrow to spill the life's blood of their own family?" He glanced at Bofur and tilted his chin in that direction. "Ask him to cut down Bombur's sons if they chose to stand with Dain?"

Kili's face paled starkly, but he did not back down. "They would stand with us." He avowed, clenching his fist.

"Are you sure? What of Nori's mother's cousins, aunts, and the like?" Fili shook his head. "For that matter, Dain is blood kin to us. Would you ask me to fight the dwarrowdam I'd once pledged to take as wife? Her kin?"

Dis shifted in her seat, reminded that she had yet to tell Fili he was legally free of that betrothal. "The Queen is pregnant." The dwarven princess looked deliberately over at Tauriel, asking silently if Kili had it in him to destroy another's unborn child when he was expecting his own.

Kili nervously licked his lips, shying away from that unspoken question. "We cannot allow elves and wizards and Mordor itself tell us …."

"Khazad-dum." Fili interrupted harshly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kili stopped, staring. His mind reeled at the implications of that one name. He grunted, unsure. "A pipe dream. Yes, we've toyed with the idea, but it is impossible. You were the one to say it was only a dream!"

"So was Erebor." The blond pointed out evenly, trying to ignore the hurt in his brother's dark eyes. He'd deliberately downplayed the thought of reclaiming Khazad-dum to Kili while working on how to possibly make it more of a reality. "Balin has already made a start, drumming up support and monies looking to reclaim that kingdom."

Dwalin seemed to relax enough for the others to suddenly realize how tense he'd become. "Spilling orc and goblin blood has a greater appeal." Was all he would admit to though.

Kili rounded on the bald warrior, pointing rudely at him. "You were the one who told us that you thought Balin was being foolish. And what of Durin's Bane?"

"A harsh consideration, yes. As for Balin, I feel his plans are not fully realized as he thinks that ancient foe is long gone. We've argued on the subject. But the goal of reclaiming Khazad-dum? For the two of you? Yes. For this I would be willing, but only if we plan better." Dwalin nodded sagely, intimating that he and his own brother weren't seeing eye-to-eye on how to retake the ancient kingdom.

Nori cleared his throat. Not a large sound, but in the charged environment it drew all attention his way. "Nerkek."

Dis shook her head while Dwalin shrugged. "The merchant?" Both looked confused at the mention of someone they knew from back at Ered Luin.

"He's here, in town." Nori pointed out to the two newly arrived. "Thrilled the Line survives and willing to be secretive. But he is curious about future 'plans'. And nervous about offering support against Erebor."

"Against Dain." Kili muttered bitterly.

"Can we agree that Nerkek is a relatively normal dwarrow? Basic and the epitome of the common dwarf? Neither great nor low?" Nori did not wait for their responses, moving on quickly. "He loves you two, but the thought of a war against our own kind leaves even the most solid of Dwarves anxious." Nori flicked a glance at Fili. "But …."

"But he would support an endeavor to reclaim Khazad-dum?" Bofur asked, already nodding.

"I have not broached that subject, I'll admit. Yet I think he'd feel far more comfortable with such a plan." Nori said with great deliberation. "And I doubt his reaction would be that uncommon."

Kili swore under his breath, looking discouraged. "No. That was tried, to devastating results." He looked pointedly at Dwalin who did not look away. "We had great and terrible losses there."

"We were not prepared. We will not make the same mistakes." Fili said with quiet dignity, lifting his chin and looking almost apologetically at the veteran of said battle.

Dwalin grunted, but did not appear angry at the censorious remark.

"Erebor is our birthright." Kili protested, though with slightly deflated eagerness in light of the opposition. "It was wrong to walk away, trading honor for safety."

No one immediately answered as silence filled the room, hanging like a pall over the group as each chewed over what had been said, and had been left unsaid.

"Okhriy 'ungnât." The words were spoken suddenly, loudly and without inflection, but also with great surety. "Release the vows."

Shocked, everyone turned and stared at Tauriel with mixed expressions. Especially as she'd spoken the words in perfect Khuzdul first.

Dis stiffened as she stared at the wife of her son, and the mother of her grandchild. "Have you not been listening?" She said with more bite to her tone than she'd used since their first meetings back in the Mirkwood, back when the two had held daggers drawn against each other.

"More so than you." Tauriel did not back down, standing gracefully, a pale hand resting on the small rounded shape of her belly. The sleeping mutt at her feet undisturbed. "I will not make this decision for my husband, or offer my opinion." Her eyes slid past Kili without engaging his own gaze in a telling move. "But what decisions are made should not be based on vows made under duress. Decide as you will. Openly and without coercion."

"Says the lass who tricked him into handfasting?" Dis snarked tartly, but without true heat.

"Let all decisions be made openly and with free will. As you would have had of me, do for yourselves." The red-haired elf swept out of the room with poise and dignity, right past her husband and those she'd called friends and possibly even family. She made no other gestures, offered no other words.

No one said anything for a long moment, then Nori sighed and whistled low. "That is one angry female." He shook his head sadly.

Bofur nodded, his eyes a bit wide.

Dwalin's expression actually seemed sympathetic as he glanced briefly at Kili, before deliberately looking away.

"There are no slamming doors." Dis commented slowly.

"Not her way." Kili commented. "And she will be fine …."

Upstairs a door slammed hard enough to rattle the house with enough force that the sleeping dog awoke, startled. He whined a bit as his shoulders hunched with fear, not being terribly fond of thunderstorms. Looking around he didn't see his favorite person, his tail went between his legs and he lowered his belly to the ground, ceding dominance.

Kili sighed unhappily, though at least the dog didn't pee this time.

"What is that?" Dwalin rumbled, disgust in his tone.

Kili's eye started to twitch as the dog suddenly peed in submission.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"The queen is lightly sedated, resting as comfortably as possible. Didn't want to give her anything stronger because of the babe."

Dain nodded, frowning as he stared at one of the tapestries he'd commissioned from the weaver's guild depicting Thorin's last stand. They'd rushed the piece to have it ready by the coronation, working ceaselessly but that did nothing to detract from the magnificence of the piece. Only the size. He'd ordered a much larger version to hang in the main hall of Erebor, but that one was taking far longer to complete.

His mind turned over these useless thoughts, not wanting to focus on the matter at hand. "Are we alone?"

Behind the king, Oin shook his head, not hearing the softly spoken words and without benefit of seeing Dain's face or lips.

Balin cleared his throat tellingly, his tone cautious. "We are in your throne room. Gandalf, I, Oin and several of your guards are present." Meaning, no, they weren't alone.

"Against Mordor? Are we alone?" Came the rather churlish response.

Balin huffed and rocked back on his heels a bit as he twitched his mouth, having misread the question.

"No." Gandalf spoke up, sounding far more confident than Balin felt. The white-bearded dwarrow stepped back, more than willing to allow the wizard to hold the floor. As well as the attention of the King Under the Mountain.

"Prove it." Dain said wearily, obviously heart-sore over the demise of his queen's kin. "Or get out, all of you."

Balin nearly choked. How to prove such a thing?

Gandalf however, merely raised one eyebrow and calmly asked the king to retire to a room more private. His words insinuated that what he had to say was not for public knowledge.

Dain turned, the lines around his eyes prominent and sad, fatigued. He nodded and gave several barked commands as he led the way to a private retiring chamber meant for more intimate talks. The guards sealed the doors behind them. Balin just wondered what the wizard was going to tell the king, or at least …how much he would dare to reveal.

Balin watched the king turn toward Gandalf and start to speak, only to stop as the tall wizard's staff began to glow. Not just the tip, but a radiating light down the shaft right to the butt just as the ancient being who was not as human as he looked, struck it on the stones below them.

Dain swallowed, nodded and then licked his lips. "Now we are private?" His words almost mocking and yet doing little to mask the king's unease.

As private as I can make us, at least from mortal ears, dwarven or otherwise." Gandalf shrugged as if the spell was of no moment. Which Balin suddenly realized he had no clue how difficult or costly any of the Gray's spells really were. After all their time together shouldn't he know more about the wizard? The thought left him uncomfortably aware of how little he really knew about Gandalf.

"How can I trust you?" Dain asked, his voice raspy and hoarse.

"The Line lives, and I protect it. But I do not seek to enthrone it." The words were blandly spoken, though their import was nearly explosive.

The bluntness of the wizard's revelation had both Oin and Balin sucking in hard breaths and shaking their heads, wincing.

Dain, however, cocked his head to one side and eyed the wizard as if unaffected. "And when the child grows?" He let his voice trail off, inviting further information.

Balin looked at Gandalf, slowly shaking his head so minutely as to avoid the king's notice. The wizard merely blinked and took a deep breath, as if to steady himself. "That is for his father to decide." This was whispered, as if even though privacy was assured by the glowing staff, it was still too precious to be discussed aloud.

Balin would have laughed at the huge, bulging eyes that Dain now displayed if he weren't turning red himself. He could almost see the whirling of the king's brain as pieces broke apart, realigned and fit back together. He held his own breath, waiting for the reaction. What was Gandalf doing?

"You asked me to prove that we, The White Council, stand with Erebor?" Gandalf didn't allow the poor king to fully assimilate the import of the news before adding to his mental burdens. "We asked the true heirs to walk away in order to keep Erebor from falling into civil war, and finally to an ignoble end."

Dain's red face suddenly went white and then slowly began to turn blue. Balin realized the king wasn't breathing, neither had he blinked in the last few moments. Oin started for the king at the same time as Balin, striking the redoubtable dwarf hard on the back in order to get the seizing lungs back into a working rhythm.

Dain coughed and sputtered and shoved Oin away hard enough to make the healer stumble, though he did not fall. "Heirs?" The king whispered, shocked beyond ability to measure.

Gandalf started to speak, only to draw back as the king pointed at him harshly. He waited, but when the wizard took the cue to remain silent, he grunted. "Balin?" He asked instead.

The white-bearded dwarf dipped his head shamefaced, red cheeked and heavy hearted. "Sore wounded, very much so, with slim chances at surviving. You, were ….not yourself."

Dain cursed, starting out with a whisper but ending in a near shout as he spun in a sweeping gesture before falling silent. No one said anything for a long moment. The king nodded abruptly and turned back to face them all without shame, or deceit. "Yes. I'd like to think not. But …."

It was as close as the former leader from the Iron Hills would come to admitting that perhaps his younger cousins had been in danger, from him. Suddenly he choked, his face reddening once more, alarming them all. Only to have a harsh laugh escape the heavily bearded king. Dain rumbled with the harsh sound, his eyes watering as he wiped them and shook his head at those staring at him. Finally Dain cleared his throat. "Dis. That sneaky dam. She …it was she. That's why she wanted to name my child after her brother, rather than her son."

Balin and Oin both nodded, though neither smiled nor shared in the king's laughter. For it wasn't funny so much as a gesture to relieve the tension.

"She told me …" Dain thumped his chest hard enough to fall a full grown human. "She told me that she KNEW I had spilt no blood of her family. Damn her." He added with no heat, but something close to pride in his voice.

"They have taken vows not to return to Erebor." Gandalf said quietly.

"Why?" Dain looked up, startled, his eyes bright for the first time in days really. He clenched his jaw and shook his head. "I assumed they were sent away too wounded to stand. But to take vows? What kind of cowards are these?"

Balin and Oin immediately drew back, affronted and appalled. But the king was far from done.

"Dwarves do not walk away from fights, unless they need to retreat and regroup to attack again. Yet you say they have no designs upon MY throne? My mountain?"

Balin literally bit his tongue on that thought.

"Where were they when we were struggling to get supplies in for the winter? To set up defenses? To rebuild?" Dain's face turned mottled with red once more. "They'd best not ever set foot on soil belonging to Erebor again! How dare they walk away from their heritage and the kingdom their uncle paid his life's blood for?"

"To keep you from killing them!" Balin snapped, instantly regretting his hasty words.

Dain's haunted eyes bore into the white-bearded counselor while his lips turned into a sneer. "They should have been returned as soon as they were healed, or my mind cleared. Subterfuge? That is not the way of the Khazad!"

"There is Mordor to consider. Sauron." Gandalf slid in the words smoothly, like a blade, looking unruffled by the king's ire.

Dain nodded, calming slightly as he put his hands behind his back while he considered things. Finally he sighed. "They walked away, they have no claim to the throne."

Balin clenched his jaw, but it did not help. "They only did so to keep blood kin from fighting blood kin."

"Taking the easy way out?" Dain deliberately provoked, raising both eyebrows mockingly. He turned to Gandalf and pointed hard at him. "You take a great chance, telling me. What makes you think they are safe from me now?"

"Because you are you once more." Gandalf said, spreading his free hand in a humble gesture. "Because you care more for the state of the Dwarven people than you do for your own crown. Because you want Erebor to survive more than you want Erebor itself."

Dain's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You take much for granted, wizard."

"I take nothing for granted, King Dain." Gandalf stressed the title most deliberately. "I and the White Council may have handed you the crown, but we also put a huge target on your back."

The king drew up sharply, his eyes flashing with anger. "That target fell on more innocent flesh tonight."

Sadness had the wizard's face drooping as he nodded. "She should have been safe. I let it be known far and wide that Coryan was not expecting a child."

Dain sniffed in derision. "Sauron did not believe you." He sighed heavily, shaking his head as he stroked his full beard. "What next? What would you have of Erebor now? You aided to restore her to the Dwarves, then stole the Line from us. Now what?"

"That is up to you." Gandalf said simply, gesturing toward Oin and Balin who both remained silent.

Dain hissed, surprised and yet not. "You want them to stay? They are not loyal to me."

"No. They are loyal to the Khazad peoples. By their actions they saved the Line from destruction, and perhaps all of the Rhovanion area. They may not belong to you, but they are hardly disloyal to you. Nothing they have done is looking to unseat your rule here."

"And if the Company of Thorin suddenly leaves and congregates elsewhere, that place becomes Mordor's next target, yes?" Dain said snidely. "Perhaps I don't have to go after them myself."

Gandalf clucked his tongue and shook his own head. "Come over, you don't want them dead."

Dain stared. Balin and Oin barely restrained themselves from interjecting. Finally the king grumbled and rolled his wide shoulders, straining the leathers covering his rather burly chest. "No. I do not wish the Line ill. But to keep the Company here?"

"Where they cannot plot against you."

"Don't be damned naïve, wizard!" Dain snapped, his temper not boiling but definitely on the verge. "They can plot anywhere."

"I will raise no weapon, of the mind or the body, against you King Dain. Now or ever." Balin said quietly, Oin quickly giving his word as well.

Dain sighed heavily, looking mightily put upon.

"What happened to Coryan was simply a precursor. That is what Sauron has in store for any, not just the Dwarves. He holds no life but his own to be worth ….anything." Gandalf sensed the opening and pressed forward.

"You have either destroyed us, or saved us all." Dain muttered harshly. He gave a rough chuckle that held no lightness, no mirth at all. "Why? Why not just keep them here? Why couldn't you have protected them from me? No one would have gone along with the Line's destruction, even if I was mad. You could have kept them safe. Why this course? You could have kept the Line here, intact."

Balin and Oin both turned wide eyes onto the gray wizard, who suddenly looked older than usual. "Yes."

The white-haired advisor shut his eyes despairingly, hearing something he'd hoped wasn't true.

"And no as well." Gandalf sounded so terribly sad as he spoke. "They would have been dead before the week was out. If not by your hand, then by others. I have a war to fight, and all of Arda to protect. I could not remain by their sides forever and Sauron ….he is more powerful than I. The Line had to continue, to protect three kingdoms, not just one. The importance of this cannot be understated."

"Then you should have left them in Ered Luin." Dain responded caustically. "I was against this whole mess in the first place!"

"Smaug could not fall under the Old Enemy's thrall. That is a ….excuse me, was a weapon that we could ill afford in the coming war."

"You play with our lives like chess pieces." Balin said mournfully, more than a little betrayal in his voice as he looked at Gandalf.

The wizard's face crumpled as he saw the censure in the dwarrow's face. "Balin. I love them. But I have to face that keeping them alive in hiding is better than letting them die on the throne. Dain is in less danger than they, and he is a very capable king."

Dain rolled his eyes derisively. "What do the signs say?" He glanced at Oin, who suddenly turned red in the face. "Well?"

The dwarrow healer looked ready to turn tail and run for a moment, but then squared his shoulders. "The Line will return to Erebor."

"Oh?" Dain turned to glare at the wizard. "I thought that was not to be?"

Gandalf smiled and shrugged. "The Line. Not particularly these two scions of that bloodline. And no, I cannot promise that they will never make war on you, but they did vow. And I know them to be honorable."

"Honorable dwarves don't walk away from a fight." Dain snorted. "Now leave me. I have much to think on, and much to decide."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I am no fit company, not tonight."

Dis hesitated at the threshold to the door. "Kili and Fili are shut in together, speaking."

Tauriel nodded, her head still bent over her needlework. With a sigh she tossed it aside. "I cannot concentrate."

Dis padded into the room, her feet in socks as her boots where more than likely in one of the utility rooms. The thought made the she-elf frown. "Have rooms been offered to you?"

"Yes." Dis answered, like the elf avoiding the glaringly big topic of what had happened below. "I took Nori's room I believe. He will be sharing with Bofur while Dwalin is making do with a pallet before the fire. He's had worse."

Tauriel frowned unhappily. "It hardly seems fitting."

"It only remains to be known if Dwalin needs to make up two pallets, or one."

Tauriel thought about that for a moment, mentally counting down dwarrow in her mind. It took her a second but her face shot up and she stared at her mother-in-law with some shock. "I am not tossing Kili out of our room."

"It would be a very dwarrow reaction." The princess said as she picked up the discarded piece of sewing. One eyebrow rose as she held up the tiny shirt. "Expecting anomalies with the baby?"

Tauriel glared, her face reddening as she realized that one sleeve was quite longer than the other. "I don't sew well."

"I didn't either at first. Though I am better with a needle than I am in the kitchen." Dis said a bit dryly, pulling a chair over toward the hearth and sitting opposite her son's wife. "Perhaps knitting?"

Tauriel's face flushed and she shook her head. "I assist with training the guards for the town and for caravans."

Dis blinked rapidly a few times. "They let you out of the house?"

The she-elf's lips quirked and she sighed, some of her tension melting off. "Reluctantly and under duress."

"Ah." Dis picked up the smallest pair of shears and began clipping threads in the small shirt. "You can't be that bad. That baby blanket over there is lovely."

"A gift. From Nurbera. Teldu's mam." Tauriel paused, blinking her green eyes warily.

"No worries, I met Teldu." Dis sounded vastly amused. "She seemed to have everything well in hand."

Tauriel smothered a smile as she nodded.

"Now, do you want to learn?" Dis held up the sewing as she reached for the pin cushion and the needles.

Tauriel licked her lips and shook her head. "Yes, but perhaps tonight is not the best."

"It's not easy being married to a Dwarf, not even when you are a dwarrowdam." Dis made the opening gambit of the important conversation.

Tauriel paused, unsure if she should trust this Dis, or the one with the daggers that she'd met in the Mirkwood. "He is easy to love."

Dis snorted and nodded. "Love yes. Living with?" The dam chuckled and shook her head. "Stubborn and thick headed, the lot of them."

"I'm afraid." The words escaped her without her permission. But once said aloud, the she-elf's chin firmed and she tilted her head upwards, proudly.

The dwarrowdam looked up and smiled. "You'd be a fool if you weren't. And a fool is the last thing I think you are."

"Aren't you going to ask what I fear?" The red-head asked.

Dis shrugged. "You'll tell me, or him. Keeping it to yourself is the poison. I would assume you're afraid of many things. A first child is always fearful. You're the only elf in this town, and are without family here. Dwarven politics?" The dam made a face and shrugged. "Mordor?"

Tauriel leaned back, watching the dam in front of her. "You're not what I expected."

"You expected more blades?" Dis laughed and deftly threaded her needle.

"Well, yes." The she-elf admitted.

"You may have stolen my baby's heart." Dis looked up with a flash of something deep in her blue eyes. "But you look utterly committed to him. And the baby. Nain Cuthalion. Big clue there."

Tauriel blinked but said nothing.

"Nain. You chose the name Nain." Dis pointed at Tauriel. "What is your husband's line?"

"Kili, son of Dis and Vihili, sister son of Thorin II known as the Oakenshield King Under the Mountain who was the son of Thrain II, from High King Thror and eldest of Dain I. Son of Nain II, son of Oin, son of Gloin, son of Thorin I and then son of Thrain I. Son of Nain and son of Durin VI."

"Well done."

Having only paused to catch her breath, Tauriel shook her head. "Not done."

"No need." Dis waved a hand at her. "Now. Why Nain? Of all those, why that name and that king?"

"Oin and Gloin I turned aside as those names are currently in use." Tauriel started a bit hesitantly. "Likewise Vihili and Thorin were names sure to cause Kili sadness, or perhaps it is one that Fili would prefer for his first born."

"Ah, and …"

Tauriel licked her lips and shrugged lightly as Dis finished the hem on the tiny sleeve and held up the shirt with a nod. "Well, Thrain, I'm sorry, that he came to such a sad end …."

Dis held up a hand to stall the elf's words. "Understood." She said, not delving into her own sorrow at her father's passing, or his madness. "What of Thror?"

The she-elf drew herself up straight and answered truthfully. "His name was nearly a curse in the Elvish courts for many a year. I was not with King Thranduil during the dragon's attack. I was stationed in the north. Still. I would have followed my king's orders."

Dis nodded, more slowly this time, as if weighing something important within her own mind. "Continue."

"That left Dain, Durin and Nain. Durin is not an option and Dain …" Tauriel grimaced and shook her head. "And Nain was a king that Kili greatly admired."

At this Dis actually lifted an eyebrow and chuckled. "That would be Nain the Second, not Nain the first."

"They are both Nain, are they not?" The she-elf asked.

Dis nodded with a smile. "But to name a child after the second one the name should properly be Oninain." At the pale look on the elf's face, the dam reached over and patted her arm. "No matter, Nain is a good name and a strong choice and you put far more thought into this than someone whose feelings are shallow. And this way you name the child after the first born of Durin VI, not a bad thing to be doing."

"Oh."

"And this is why I will teach you and help you, and love you if you'll allow. I may need some help though, accepting an elf as a daughter, but if you'll be patient with me I will try."

"I know what to do if you come at me with blades better than I do than when you offer sweet words." Tauriel said baldly.

Dis smiled widely. "Blunt truth? I think we may get along after all."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Kili and Fili were done talking, arguing, pushing each other around and otherwise 'discussing' matters. Now they were sprawled in their chairs with a nearly empty keg of ale between them. Instead of politics, their words turned to deciding who was supposed to get up to get more.

A knock on the door had both their heads swiveling in that direction.

"Bofur!" Kili grinned, winced and touched his swollen lip, the result of getting his face too near Fili's fist while they'd spoken. "We need ale."

The hatted dwarf did not smile or in any way respond, just stood there in the doorway.

Fili sat up, ignoring the rather hefty bruise probably forming over his ribs and the accompanying ache. "What?"

"Message, brought in by raven. From Balin."

Both heirs stood, their earlier disagreements and hurts disappearing like so much mist. Fili held out his hand and Bofur gave him the rolled up message.

Kili grimaced, pushing his erstwhile waves back behind his ears. No message had ever come to them by raven, it was too direct. Too telling. This then was urgent in the extreme.

The brunet watched as Fili broke the seal, reading through the missive quickly. The elder brother's face paled alarmingly, so much so that both Kili and Bofur stepped toward him in support.

"What? Do we pack? Do we have time to do that much?" Kili asked.

Bofur was shaking his head. "We can be ready in no time." He didn't mention all they'd have to leave behind, to take only the essentials.

Fili opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't bring himself to do so. "Sauron had Coryan murdered. Tore her apart for the sin of being my betrothed and possibly carrying my son."

Bofur swayed as Kili stared gape-jawed.

"Gandalf told Dain about us. Balin assures us we are safe and our location is unknown, even to our cousin. Dain has agreed to protect our presence from Mordor."

Kili snatched the rune-written missive, scanning it, though he wasn't as fast at reading as his older sibling.

"I'm sorry brother. Even if mam is willing to release our vows, I cannot bring an army against Dain. He is blood of our blood, kin of Thorin and our bigger enemy is Sauron."

Bofur swallowed hard at that name.

"What of Tauriel? And Teldu? Brookshire is not as defensible as I'd like." The brunet said, his voice weak with worry.

"You think I don't realize that?" Fili ground his teeth together, a nearly feverish look in his sapphire eyes. A look that Bofur and Kili were well familiar with, only on another face. Thorin's.

Kili straightened, walking up to his brother and clapping his hand on the elder's shoulder. "What would you have of me?" It was an offer of support, no matter his personal feelings on trying to take back Erebor. "I am yours."

Fili answered by putting his own hand on his brother's shoulder. He turned and sought out Bofur's gaze. "We stay, we build, we defend. When the time is right …we will take our rightful place."

"Which is?" Bofur asked, he had to ask.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o


	44. Together

Fili had been staring at nothing for quite some time now. Dwalin had been watching him for an equal amount of time, though he had not been staring. Simply an awareness of where the heir of Durin was and what he was doing. An alertness just below the surface.

"I never thought you would do that to me."

Dwalin looked up, his movements spare as he stayed where he was sitting, his expression carefully bland and without judgement. Waiting.

Fili smiled and turned to look at his cousin. "I've watched you. For years. At Thorin's side, ready for whatever Uncle needed. Someone to speak with, someone to give orders to, someone to argue with, or someone to take care of matters."

"Or someone just to listen." Dwalin said in a rough rumbling voice, unalarmed.

Pausing, Fili nodded slowly. "I never thought you would do it to me."

"Thorin did." The bald warrior blinked slowly. "He was training you to be the heir."

"What do I do, Dwalin? What would you do?" Fili stared at the other male with pride mixed with a hint of anguish as his cousin did not respond with other than a mildly sympathetic look.

"I am not a leader, lad."

"You lead all the time!" The blond prince drew a hand through his hair in agitation.

Dwalin let his gaze settle on his new, young monarch. Even if Fili never sat a throne, he'd think of him as such. He waited, knowing that the blond knew that Dwalin's leadership had always been at the behest and will of Thorin Oakenshield. "Balin would be a better fit for ye." He said of his brother.

Fili growled and shook his head as he looked away for a moment. Yes, Balin had been more advisor and confidant, whilst Dwalin had been the extension of Thorin's might. Still. It galled him to realize that these dwarrow, whom he'd looked up to his entire life, were now looking to him to lead. Was he up for it?

"If I could have been, I'd have been dead in his place."

Dwalin scowled, a frown forming deep lines on either side of his face and he slipped out some very harsh Khuzdul words before sighing. "If Thorin were here he'd box your ears for that." He stood, staring stonily at Fili. "If you harbor guilt for surviving, I'll box your ears for him."

"Of course I feel guilty for surviving when he did not. So do you." He peered cannily at the other male. "So do you."

Dwalin nodded once, not denying the obvious.

"Who is going to box your ears, cousin?" Fili asked the question with light mockery, and weariness. He paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm not strong enough to do this. I am not Thorin."

"Thank the Maker." Dwalin's heart-felt words drew a look of shocked surprise from the younger dwarrow. "Thorin was the best of us, mistake me not. But his opinion of you was that you would surpass him."

Fili blinked, realizing for the first time that of course Thorin and Dwalin had discussed him, and his ability to inherit. "He never told me such."

"Thorin, love him as I do …did ….was stubborn. He would not have said such to you, but he did to me. Often." Dwalin sighed and gave a gruff chuckle. "Not always though. You tried his patience. You and your brother both."

Fili actually smiled, though sadness still tinged his sapphire gaze that reminded Dwalin so strongly of Thorin. "Kili."

The bald dwarrow nodded slowly. "Kili."

"I feel like I'm flying on those damned eagles again. The world laid out before me and all will be well, but only if I don't fall off." Fili grimaced and tugged lightly at one of the mustache braids besides his mouth. "That any misstep and we will be but a splotch on Arda, food for the scavengers. That if I lose my balance, I lose all. I am a poor heir to Durin's Line."

Dwalin grunted and crossed his arms. "You think your Uncle Thorin had no doubts? No misgivings? No nightmares? Think again."

"I'm taking back Khazad-dum."

The words lay before the duo like a predator before prey. Still. Waiting. Hungry.

"Tell me I'm wrong." Fili demanded, his chin lifting slightly. "Tell me I'm dooming myself and all I care about."

Suddenly Dwalin laughed. Fili stared at him, which only served to make the bald warrior laugh even harder to the point that Dwalin was nearly bent double with his hands on his knees.

The blond sighed heavily and shook his head.

Dwalin, gasping for air, pulled up his head to look at Fili. "Why seek my opinion? I agreed to go on a quest to deliver a mountain kingdom from a death-dealing flying furnace with bad breath, with the assistance of fourteen others." He laughed again, shaking his head. "One of them a hobbit who left his home without a proper handkerchief. Or weapon."

Fili shrugged.

"Fourteen. Fifteen if you count me." Dwalin finally stood, wiping at his eyes as he kept smiling. "Crossing Arda and facing down a dragon. My opinion? Is highly suspect." He said with laughing self mockery.

"Khazad-dum." The blond stressed the word heavily. "We've already had this battle, and won only by technicality. We lost so many it might as well have been a loss. It devastated those the dragon could not." Fili pointedly stared for a lengthy minute before adding a pithy observation. "A battle you still won't talk about."

"Aye." Dwalin sobered a bit as he eyed his rather reluctant leader. "But you know that. You know what we did, and you can plan it better this time around."

"Durin's Bane." Fili pointed out the most obvious obstacle.

The bald warrior nodded, his smile fading completely as he too considered the difficulties lying ahead on such a path. "Aye."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I can never repay you. There is no mountain of treasure waiting for you at the end of this. No titles, no parties, no songs."

The quiet words had Bofur sitting up from where he'd been lost in thought, leaning over his knees and contemplating the snow about him. His pipe was caught between his teeth, marks of long use on the hardened stem. Snow, gleaming with the light of the late afternoon sun, lay about what would be a garden come spring. "Lady Dis."

"Just Dis, please." The dwarrowdam simply glanced at him and Bofur shot to his feet, gesturing toward the bench. She smiled and shook her head at him, though he remained standing with her. "Cold out here." It was a question couched as a statement.

Bofur lifted his pipe, letting the fragrant odor waft on the air between them. "Tauriel's sensitive to aromas." He hesitated, then shrugged. "Not that she'd ask me to smoke outside, just a courtesy and all." He started to blush a bit. "Actually, it was Bombur's wife who was really sensitive when she was carrying, and I thought …"

Dis smiled, interrupting the bumbling ramble. "You miss your brother and cousin."

Bofur blushed even hotter, sheepishly reaching back to rub at the back of his neck as he refused to meet the princess' eye. She waited for him, giving him the courtesy of silence as his emotions settled. When he took a deep cleansing breath, she nodded. Bofur looked up at her and shook his head. "I regret nothing I've done. Or chosen."

Dis' smile felt bittersweet as she dipped her head in respectful acknowledgement of the support. "You can let go now." It was an offer.

The response was immediate and emphatic. Bofur's head swung back and forth as his eyes hardened with unspoken emotion.

"You have done more than anyone could require. You have a fortune and a family waiting for you." Dis continued gently, softly, her eyes full of understanding of all he'd been missing. Meaning he did not have to attach himself to Fili's announced decision to retake Khazad-dum.

"Beg your pardon, Lady Dis." Bofur coughed and then his lips thinned as he pressed them together. "Dis. But I'm not done yet." His eyes flicked over to the house and those it contained. "As for fortune and family, I'm not as far from those as you might think."

Catching the intimation, Dis smiled sadly even as she nodded in agreement. She put her hand on Bofur's leather covered arm as she spoke with great weight and meaning. "Thank you." Then, softly, she added in Khuzdul. "Anart mi, booise. Gnath, gura mie ayd."

His hand moved to cover hers, though his face returned to its furiously blushing height even as he bowed his head slightly. Her rather formal declaration of honor and thanks were hardly necessary, but appreciated. "Lady."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Nori looked up as Dwalin entered the kitchen. Both dwarrow froze, staring at one another. Dwalin suddenly flashed an evil grin. "I would have paid to see your face."

"I was captured by Easterling slavers." Nori groused, a sharp cutting blade in his hand as he rough chopped up stew meat.

"Ye survived." Dwalin yawned, unconcerned.

Nori's eyes flashed with temper as his grip on the cooking blade turned his knuckles white. "They threatened to cut off my beard!"

"It looks a bit shorter." Dwalin said with deadpan calm.

"I still have nightmares!" Nori bit out the words as he pointed toward the library where Fili could usually be found. Meaning, the dreams were about the loss of the Line, not the slavers.

"Is the balance of that knife good enough for throwing?" The bald dwarrow asked with studied casualness. "Don't want you hitting me by accident when you throw it in my direction."

"It wouldn't be by accident." Nori threatened through gritted teeth.

Silence fell between the duo as they measured each other with their eyes. Suddenly both burst into laughter simultaneously, then each time they started to sober they'd catch sight of each other and redouble their laughter. Dwalin rubbed his side as he started to ache with it, and Nori wiped his eyes with a dish cloth.

"The …the blasted Line of ….Line of Durin." The red-head shook his head weakly, taking as deep a breath as he could without choking. "No warning, no nothing. I nearly fainted when I saw them standing in a human's office of all things. Well-fed, whole, just like any other day."

Dwalin nodded, flashing a swift look of sympathy before it disappeared. "Left Balin with some magnificent bruises when I found out."

Nori drew up sharply, shock on his face. "You didn't know either?"

"Not from the first." Dwalin admitted, shaking his head as he spread his hands. "Balin and Dis were right in assuming I wouldn't have let them be sent off to the elves. Away from Erebor."

The red-head nodded thoughtfully as he considered those first hours following the battle. "Dain?"

"I would have stood between." Dwalin said resolutely.

"You were tired and injured as well."

"I would have stood between." The bald warrior asserted again, no more trace of laughter in his face or demeanor.

"We would have lost you too." Nori's head bobbed a bit as his thoughts raced. "Some can be laid at Dain's iron feet, but mostly …. Mordor."

"Aye." Dwalin ran a hand over his face in a tired motion. "Mordor." He then grimaced and shook his head. "And Dain was bad taken by then, though he recovered. He went down quicker than Thorin had."

"Could Dain have brought you down?" Nori asked rhetorically. Yes. Eventually in those first few months following the battle, Dain would have inherited the throne. The princes would not have survived if they'd stayed. Not even Dwalin could have protected them both for too long. Nori sighed heavily, staring down at his half completed task. He frowned sharply. "I hate to admit, but I'm glad."

It was a very undwarrow-like sensibility. Just as hiding Fili and Kili away had been in the first place.

"Been thinking." Dwalin grumbled. "I'm not the philosopher that my brother is. But. The Smith made the Khazad in secret, yes? We keep our language and ways secret from Arda. Is it really that unheard of? Waiting until the right moments. Waiting. It's what stone does."

Nori's expression caught and he started thinking along those lines, almost humming beneath his breath as he slowly shrugged. A nod, then two. "Perhaps."

"And we won't stay a secret. Balin says Dain knows. Good." Dwalin grumped. "As long as Mordor stays unaware. Until we retake Khazad-dum. The Coppernose brothers will rise far above their station."

Nori grimaced-grinned all at the same time, finally settling on a half-tilted up smile. He raised his blade, but didn't throw it at Dwalin though the bald warrior kept careful watch. "All hail the Coppernose brothers. Horaa soigd!"

Dwalin's eyebrows rose. The words were a celebration of one with pride above their station. One he suspected had been thrown at Nori and his brothers before, considering their distant connection to royalty despite their mean circumstances in life. Before the quest, of course. "Horaa soigd." He added, then said it louder for good measure.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Queen Rilna of Erebor looked down at the stationary her husband had just gifted her with. Silk ribbons tied the pages neatly into tidy stacks. A pleasant and not overwhelming scent rose from the paper. A box of the finest waxes and mithral tipped quills came with a fine ink set in crystal containers. Surprised eyes rose to that of her husband. "Laying it on a bit thick?"

Dain snorted. "A gift, from the Stiffbeards. Gloin sent it on ahead with messengers full of trade agreements and alliances." If the king hesitated over the Company member's name, it went unnoticed.

"Ah." Rilna sighed and shook her head. "Do you think they were being overly optimistic to scribe at the top of each page that I am now the Lady of the Silver Fountains? Those things are near destroyed and not high on the list for repairs."

The king laughed ruefully, relaxing under his wife's light tone. "A goad, perhaps."

"Subtlety was never their strong suit. Coryan told me …." The queen paused, a stricken look crossing her face before she continued as if nothing had happened. "that the Stiffbeards overcompensate for a lack of ….yes, a lack of stiffness elsewhere. Naughty creature." Rilna blinked to hold back the moisture in her eyes.

"You will always miss her, but she will await you." Dain offered the comment, feeling a bit helpless in light of his wife's anguish.

"She should be awaiting her husband and children, after a suitably long life. Not cut open like a boar in winter!"

Dain paused, hesitating. He'd not wanted his wife to know the manner in which Mordor's agents had mutilated the poor dwarrowdam.

Rilna reached out, her touch delicate on the roughened skin on the back of his hand. Hands that could crush a skull, but could not mend a broken heart. "I heard."

"Who?" He asked gruffly, but his wife of many years simply shook her head in a manner he knew only too well. She would not be telling him. Ever. Dain growled and tugged at his beard in agitation.

His wife intercepted his hand, entwining their fingers together. "If you keep pulling at that every time something upsets you, I will be left with a beardless husband." She gave a huge shudder to emphasize her point, even as she gifted him with a tilted smile that didn't quite erase the sorrow behind her eyes.

Dain's jagged nerves stepped back as he smiled at the dwarrowdam he'd married for political reasons, and then had fallen in love with later. He'd thought he would need her connections, and not her soft heart. He'd been wrong, and within a year or two he had even realized it. "Perhaps you made a poor bargain in choosing to wed me." He had never asked her for her reasons.

Surprise lit her eyes as her eyebrows rose. "I hardly think so." Rilna then lifted her chin in an imitation of his arrogance. "Or are you saying that I have poor judgement, mental acuity, and discernment?"

King Dain barked out a quick laugh, his stomach settling even more. "You were always the bright gem with more facets than a poor male can count. Flawless."

"Hardly so." The queen demurred in a softly chiding manner that had snared his attention so long ago. "Husband, something new bothers you."

For all his wife's lack of political interest, she was not a stupid dam, nor a blind one. Dain grimaced and shook his head, knowing she would follow his lead and let his thoughts remain his own. His eyes traced the concerned features of her face, and then dropped to the burgeoning swell of her pregnancy.

Every protective instinct inherent in him and his race kicked at him. For the first time in too many days he took a deep, cleansing breath. "I understand her a bit better at the moment."

Rilna tilted her head in question in a bird-like movement. Not Coryan, he had to be speaking of the Lady Dis. Her husband had been tormented about the end of the Line of Durin for a while now, fixating on keeping the princess safe. When Dis had slipped the harness Dain had set up for her, it had galled him. Scared him. Her own hand moved to bring his hand to her belly, and the life it contained at long last. They had despaired of ever bringing a babe to full term, but this time the healers were optimistic. She was healthy, the child was healthy.

Dain had already been the recipient of some of his son's internal gymnastics, turning and kicking within his mam's womb. But each time thrilled and delighted him anew. Right now though, the wee babe appeared to be sleeping and not accommodating his father. Still, even if it was only his imagination, the king could almost feel the strength of new life beneath his touch.

Yes. He could appreciate Dis' protection of her children, even if it appalled him on a fundamental level that HE had been the cause of her distress. "Rilna, I owe you an apology." At her surprised look, he grimaced. "For how I acted when arriving here in Erebor."

For the Dragon Sickness that had all but consumed him, mind and soul.

Rilna shook her head, nibbling on her bottom lip as she eyed him. "You rose back out of the depths."

"Aye. But what did I lose along the way?"

"The babe is fine, and Gandalf assures us that baby Thorin will be immune to that gold disease, indeed to all forms of mind control." The queen reminded him gently.

Dain nodded as he thought of the two LIVING heirs still out there. Fili and Kili. Whisked away wounded for fear of their safety. Warranted, he admitted to himself. But why choose to stay away? It wasn't dwarrow of them, still … it was …it did keep the Dwarven kingdom from civil unrest and war. Blood against blood. His fingers trembled so slightly his queen did not notice. Father against son. Brother against brother.

King Dain grunted, enjoying the quiet moment with his wife and unborn son. When he was done here he would speak further with Balin. The Company should stay here if they so chose. And the Line protected at all cost.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel came back from using the facilities, yet again, to find her husband standing and holding a tiny shirt that Dis had sewn earlier. The garment wasn't quite as wide as his hand. It was a sobering thought.

"I didn't want to burden you with my thoughts." Kili said, not even looking in her direction, yet knowing who was behind him.

"You don't trust me?"

Those words cut Kili to the marrow of his bones and beyond, he whipped around, dark eyes showing his hurt and shock. "I never said that!"

"There were many things you never said." Tauriel pointed out rather stiffly. "Such as wanting to retake Erebor."

Kili blinked slowly at her and shook his head slightly. "You knew that from the beginning."

"I thought you'd put that aside." The she-elf said in her quiet manner. "I should have known you were too stubborn for that."

The dwarrow husband harrumphed lightly, but didn't disagree. His chin lifted in an arrogant move that made her smile despite her mood. "I can't change who I am."

Tauriel let out a soft breath and denied the charge. "I wouldn't have you other than as you are."

"No." Kili answered quickly, taking a step toward her, the tiny shirt still in his hand. "I can't change who I am. Son of Durin. Royal blood. A prince among the dwarrow. Call me Coppernose and I am still only me. I can't be other and I choke on living like that."

"You were fine." Green eyes moved to the baby shirt her husband still held. "Until …."

Startled a bit, Kili nodded and held up the small garment. "It solidified for me with this child. I don't want him denying his bloodlines. I don't want him shamed before he even has a chance at life."

Tauriel saw her husband's stubborn stance, but also heard the emotions running deeply behind his words and attitude. It galled her that she had not guessed at these feelings before. "I failed you."

Torn asunder by the sorrow in his wife's tone, Kili rushed to her side, reaching for her hand. She pulled away, but he was insistent. Unwilling to actually fight or move away, he won and took her hand between both of his. "Never."

"I did not know of your feelings on this."

"I should have shared, but I …" Kili stalled here, not wanting to admit that he did not want to add to the shadows of worry beneath her eyes as the pregnancy progressed. "…wasn't ready." He said weakly.

Sensing the lie, Tauriel's hand tightened on his, her green eyes sharpening. "I think too many evasions between us right now. A clean cut is always the best."

Studying her beloved face, Kili nodded. "You are afraid, and feeling unbalanced by this child. Not being able to fight or defend on the walls like would be your wont. The child is not fully elven and what will that mean, for him, for you? You have no family here other than we dwarves, so there is little familiar to you. We push and protect you, which drives you mad. Your anger and fear live near the surface and you strike out at those around you and this brings you worry, as it is simply not how you are used to acting."

Green eyes slowly widened as her husband spoke, outlining everything.

"And I am mortal."

Now those green eyes closed in true pain even as his hands tightened upon her own grip.

"Tauriel, we will get through this."

"Not if you hide things." The she-elf bit out the words, then moaned and rolled her shoulders. "That temper living near the surface." She said in a near apology. "I am galled beyond telling that you know all of what I thought to keep private, all my worries and fears whilst you dealt with your own without sharing."

"You have enough on you."

"No." Tauriel shook her hand within his grasp, but not in any effort to make him let go. Instead she leaned into his space, putting her face near to his. "I think it would ease my mind to know of what burdens you, for mine I can do little about, yours are another matter."

"Fili has banned Erebor." Kili said, as if offering something sweet before the sour. "But our eyes turn to Khazad-dum. Moria." He clarified if she was unfamiliar with the dwarrow name for the lost kingdom.

Tauriel smiled sadly at him, though she let go of his hands and walked over toward the fire.

Kili watched her go, feeling the distance as greater between them at the moment than had ever been there before. And not a distance measured in actual space. "Love?"

"Your minds are set on this course of action?" Tauriel asked, then answered her own question before he could speak. "Of course you are. Once your minds are made up, that's it."

"Unlike elves?" He tried for teasing and most succeeded. She flicked a grumpy look in his direction. Kili spread his hands in innocence.

Tauriel sighed and then nodded at him even as she took a seat by the hearth. "Your mother has offered to teach me how to sew."

Kili grinned. "That's good. Just run away if she offers to teach you how to cook."

They shared a moment of levity, but it didn't last long. Too many weighty matters hanging over them both. Kili moved to kneel down next to her chair, putting his head on her lap. Her fingers moved without thought to card through his hair, tugging on the rather messy braids.

"I struggle." She admitted in a soft voice. "I thought I was hiding it well."

"Not from those who love you."

The words made her fingers freeze for a moment. Those. Multiple. Sudden moisture built up in Tauriel's eyes too fast for her to blink. She looked away, trying to bring the sudden emotions back under control. His words had been casual, not flattery, simply a statement of what was. It made things easier, and more difficult. Should she share? Could she not?

"I more than love you though. I cannot express the depth of my feelings." Kili continued, unaware of her mental struggles. "It is that love, for you and this child, and any more we are gifted with…"

A choking laugh interrupted him. "You still would put up with you during another pregnancy?"

Kili turned his head in her lap until he blinked up at her. The deep love reflecting his utter devotion to her through his meltingly dark eyes made her breath hitch.

"We will get through this together." She whispered.

He smiled, and then that smile grew and grew until it overtook his face and he fairly beamed. "Together."

Tauriel stared down at him, feeling her whole world tilt. She hadn't liked playing it safe and hanging back when there were invaders. And she should not hold him back. Life wasn't safe, but it was worth living. Together. "Khazad-dum."

"Khazad-dum." He stressed it slightly different, correcting her accent softly.

"A demon of flame and shadows." She said meaningfully.

Kili nodded broadly and shrugged, rubbing his head against her thighs much like a large cat. "Yes. Durin's Bane. We do not discount these rumors." He promised. "We will not rush rashly into the unknown."

Tauriel put her free hand next to his cheek, her thumb slipping over to caress his lips in a loving motion but also in a way to still his words. "No. I mean the description I have heard of what you call Durin's Bane from your legends? Sounds like a demon of flame and shadows. A Balrog."

"Oh." His brow wrinkled adorably, not being familiar with the term.

Tauriel smiled and her green eyes turned resolute. "I have never fought such before and would vastly hesitate to try my hand."

Kili grimaced and rushed to reassure her that the dwarves would put their heads together for a strong plan. But her thumb moved over his lips again and his words stalled in his mouth.

"But I can offer you a name."

Kili's eyebrows rose over his expressive dark eyes.

"Of one who fought a Balrog. Perhaps if we contact him he would be willing to share information on the creature. Help formulate an attack plan." Tauriel smiled at her husband's shocked look.

"Someone fought one and lived?"

The red-headed she-elf smiled gently as she looked at her love. "No. He died. But he still might be willing to help. I don't know him, but Erestor might."

Kili blinked several times in quick repetition, sitting upright and staring at her with his mind going blank at talking to the dead. So many questions rushed through his brain, that his mouth tangled over them all and the only utterance he could offer was … "Wha?"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Safe and dry, though with flooding all around and a city in a state of emergency following Hurricane Matthew. Hope you all are safe and well no matter where you are.


	45. Pie

"Something is wrong." Maren commented, his healing leg stretched out before him as he sat behind the bakery's counter.

Teldu both heard him through the open kitchen doorway, and didn't all at the same time. Distracted and in an uneasy mood, she grimaced and continued kneading the herbed bread with too much force. "Yes, there is." She muttered, though her mind was focused elsewhere.

The human male who had been hired by her father to basically keep watch in the bakery while Teldu worked in the back, stood rather awkwardly. His badly broken leg was healing, but the going was slow. There was a strongly pronounced limp as he headed over to the window, looking out at the street. "Now, why would he be running around like that?" He said of someone he was looking at, outside.

Teldu looked up, her face lightly glistening from both effort and the heat in the bakery kitchen despite the thick snow outside her shop. Her focus snapped away from personal concerns to more of the here and now. "No calls sounded."

The pealing of Brookshire's warning system had the young apprentice baker grimacing. "My words were spoken too quickly." She listened to the bells, but there no horn blasts indicating either visitors or attack. So something within the town, a fire or injury perhaps.

Maren's mouth tightened as he watched able-bodied men race toward the town's east side. It bothered him not to be running around like everyone else, still, he was more than grateful for the job. The money wasn't great, but what breads didn't sell he got to take home for next to nothing. It helped when feeding a family. He spied a familiar blond form and grunted as the dwarf hurried by in his thick coat and leathers. "Elder Coppernose is on his way, it's as good as handled." He grunted and turned to look at the dwarrowdam still in the doorway of the kitchen area. He caught her sour look, but then it was gone, a neutral expression on her face. Uh oh. Was there trouble between the dwarven couple? He hoped not, but he was not one to pry and did not ask. Come to think of it, ever since more dwarves had arrived the other day, Fili had not come by the shop as often. He paused, his mind racing, actually he wasn't sure the blond had come by at all.

Teldu watched as Maren headed back to his seat, studiously not looking in her direction.

He knew. Even the human male knew there was 'something' wrong, and she wasn't thinking of whatever town emergency was going on. Maren usually enjoyed chatting with Fili while the blond waited for her to be done with some task or another. And both of them were used to daily visits.

Teldu wiped her hands clean on a rag, frowning as did so rather absently. She turned back to her workstation and then felt her left eye twitch. Why had she cleaned her hands already? She wasn't done with the kneading. Her state of mind was absent at best, it seemed.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Fili's usual smile was absent, his face set in grim lines. Grimmer than the situation called for.

Dunrid, the human Ranger that had stayed behind in Brookshire eyed the dwarven leader. He'd been injured, but that wasn't the reason he'd been left behind. Ostensibly it would be his duty to start an outpost for his fellow Rangers. Dunrid approached, cautious of intruding, but without fear. He hadn't been living in Brookshire long, but he'd liked what he'd seen of the tough looking blond. "No serious injuries." He commented.

Fili frowned sharply even as he gave a short nod of his head, acknowledging the other's words. His mind was obviously elsewhere, however. Yet, whatever bothered him, the dwarf mentally pushed it to the side in order to focus on what was front and center. He scowled at the collapsed house. Or rather, the pile of sticks that had been more or less upright just this morning.

Both males, human and dwarven, turned to stare at the displaced residents. Four Men, each an employee of one of the local land-owners. They worked with livestock and usually lived in bunkhouses out near the fortified estate only a few miles from the town proper. When in Brookshire on business those employees used what had been a ramshackle affair for housing as their boss wouldn't spring for the cost of using one of the inns.

Fili snorted, wondering if the destruction of the house would leave the Men camping in the snow or would the inns still be off-limits? The debris was scattered pretty widely, some even into the snowy pathway. The heavy white accumulation was piled up high from where neighbors had swept their roofs clear, to avoid the weight. This house had been in ill repair, and no one appeared to have bothered with even the basics. The walkway up to the house had been shoveled, barely. Ice was glistening on the stones and did not look very safe for walking, evidenced by all the footprints on either side of the path.

Mirenda shivered in her thick coat and boots, her hands stuffed in fur lined pockets. Her gray brows beetled over her stern expression. "I warned Kirkus that if he didn't tend to his ownings they would collapse."

Fili half-listened as the Human leader dressed down the poor men for not sweeping the heavy snows off the roof of the shoddy building, causing the eventual collapse. Fili hadn't met the older businessman who lived outside of town but for a few times, but avarice had fairly glowed out of his eyes when he had. Tightfisted and with enough greed to rival the reputation of any dwarf. Fili hadn't been impressed.

"What now?"

Blue eyes turned toward the Ranger once again. He eyed Dunrid carefully. "You healed right yet?" He didn't bother with answering the question, recognizing a conversational opening gambit for what it was.

"Well enough." Came the cagy response from one warrior to another.

Fili grinned, like recognizing like. In a similar situation, alone in a new town and unsure of everyone, it was best to keep such information private. "Let the healers know if you need anything. I'm sure the town can set up an account for the Ranger station, within reason."

It was an offer, and a feeling out. Dunrid nodded. "Not up to a large hunt, but managed some good fishing. Ice doesn't keep them from biting. More than I will be needing."

"No, it doesn't." Fili nodded, satisfied that the Human was following his train of thought. The Ranger, it seemed, was willing to pay his way with trade and work as appropriate. "We are set at the moment." He looked around, spotting Dern as the older dwarrow inspected the collapsed building. He gave a whistle.

Dern looked up, a question in his eyes. "Want fish for supper?" Fili asked, tilting his head toward the Ranger very slightly.

"Sounds tasty." Dern said slowly, cautious. He recognized what Fili was trying to do, get the Ranger more comfortable dealing with the dwarrow community. A few other dwarves stayed quiet, but didn't outright reject the offer, one even nodded and pointed quietly at the Ranger.

Dern walked over to join Fili as the Ranger and the dwarf talked quickly and quietly. They watched as the shorter male grunted and nodded in assent, then made an offer. Haggling was quiet, to the point, and seemed fair.

Dern walked over to join Fili as the Ranger and the dwarf talked quickly and quietly. They watched as the shorter male grunted and nodded in assent, then they held their breath as the Human stuck out his hand in a friendly gesture. The bearded dwarf eyed the hand for a long moment, but the Ranger was not deterred. Finally the dwarf put his own wide hand forward and the two males shook.

Dern snorted. "That's good to see." He said blandly. "Or at least you think so." He shook his head slowly, more in amazement at himself. "Since your arrival, we have had more dealings with Men than we have for years. And we have lived here for all those years."

Fili gave a quick grin, though it faded quickly.

Dern kicked some of the wet, clinging snow off of his well-insulated boot. "Maren has been working out well. For a Human." He deliberately brought up the Human working in his daughter's bakery. Putting the conversation on a different tack.

Another conversational gambit, dancing around a central topic from the side and basically non-confrontational. He was asking, but not out loud. Not yet. That would come though, if Fili's answer here did not satisfy. "You have visitors that look permanent."

"Aye." Fili nodded, amusement finally flitting through his brilliant blue eyes. Dern knew exactly who had arrived, but having this part of the conversation in public helped establish the cover story. "Distant, distant cousins. Lady Coppernose." Dis would not be thrilled with the name, but would recognize the necessity. "Friends from home."

"Large clan, the Coppernoses." Dern smirked a bit. "Didn't realize that Hamnar was so distant from his …family. We here in Brookshire had no clue the clan was so large."

"Growing larger every day." Fili's good humor fled and he sighed.

Dern waited, it was something dwarves did well.

The blond nodded, pushing his thoughts around and rearranging what he needed to say. "The Lady was recently introduced to the new King. But she has no desire to live in Erebor. She lost family members there."

The dwarrow father held his breath for a moment, then blew it out softly. "Many did." He agreed as his mind whirled. So, Dis had arrived here from Erebor itself. "She close with the king?"

"Not anymore." Came the rather dry response. Blue eyes flicked over toward the older dwarrow. "The leader Under the Mountain has much knowledge. Even I've met him, but it was many years ago." This last bit he stressed a bit more strongly. "Things have changed since then, for him and for us."

"Indeed." Dern answered, marveling at the understatement. "Does he yet know you survived the battles?" That was a rather blunt question.

"I've heard that he does, though we are not particularly close. He was relieved, but he has too much to do right now. The king is busy rebuilding his kingdom."

Dern blinked rather rapidly, his breath catching. So. Dain knew, and he was remaining king. Did that mean that Fili and the others would have to disappear? Again. He looked around, trying to school his expression back into neutral. "All is ….well?"

"It is not a good time for travelling." Fili commented slowly, meaning that Dain wasn't heading this way with an army, nor were he and his fleeing. "Caution should ever be taken, but everyone is as safe as one can be with Mordor stirring."

Dern nodded very slowly, though he still wasn't sure who knew what and how they were reacting. "Danger?"

"Caution." The blond countered, shaking his head. Dain knew, but it wasn't a disaster.

Teldu's father nodded once more, glad that they weren't all on the run. Though this explained why Fili had been absent lately. He looked away, squinting in the sunlight, pretending to scrutinize the horizon. "You coming for supper?" Or any time?

Fili snapped his teeth shut, then sighed. He shrugged. "It might be wiser not to, but I find that I can't stay away."

Dern took in the words and slowly gave a single nod of his head. "Your presence would be welcome." He made the offer, telling the heir of all heirs that he was still welcome within their home. It was an offer of absolute trust.

The blond sniffed, then gave a half-hearted smile that grew rapidly to the full deal. "I'll be there. Might bring some baked goods with me."

The dwarrow father finally turned and caught Fili's gaze. He gave a more formal nod this time. "That would be appreciated." Dern then paused as he spied Kili walking up toward them. "Coppernose."

The brunet greeted Dern warmly enough, then tilted his head toward the destruction. "Not well done."

"No." Fili paused, then cast his gaze over toward where Dunrid was speaking with another dwarf. "But that might be."

Kili smiled and watched as Dern moved away. His dark eyes followed the male that he hoped would be part of their family sooner rather than later. "You work it out in your head yet?" He said, knowing his brother had been having difficulties lately, wanting to keep Teldu close and at the same time thinking she'd be safer if he left her alone.

Fili sighed. "Not you too! Look, I …have reservations. But I'll be speaking with her soon. Very soon. Told Dern so too."

This time Kili's smile was ten times brighter, more relaxed. "Good." Both brothers backed away as a Human came forward with two large draft horses, towering over the dwarrow.

One of Kirkus' employees swore and shook his head, coarsely stating how his boss wouldn't pay for anyone to clear the debris. That he would have to send a message in order to get instructions.

Mirenda responded that the destruction had spread and encroached upon the land of the close neighbors. An argument arose about who would pay for the clean-up and just what was to be cleaned up.

Fili shook his head and sighed as they watched. It didn't seem overly heated, just a pain in the arse. "Tauriel?" He blatantly asked in order to turn the subject.

"With Mam. They're ….talking." Kili made a face.

At the odd tone of voice, Fili turned more fully toward his younger sibling. One eyebrow rose in question.

"Don't you have baked goods to buy?" Kili sniped, his early smiles vanished.

"What's wrong?" Fili pressed, as he'd always pressed as they'd grown up together. Ever since that night a few days ago, after learning of his brother's wish to retake Erebor, there had been a change. No. Not a change, really. His brother and the she-elf were still very loving toward one another. But there had been introduced a caution. A wariness. Treading gently around each other's bruised feelings. Made manifest in being too gentle with each other and not quite at ease. It pained Fili and the others to see it.

The brunet rolled his neck and shrugged. "Mam's telling stories on me. I think she's trying to prepare Tauriel for motherhood, for a dwarfling."

That's not what he'd meant. Fili's piercing glare made that much obvious. But Kili's jaw set stubbornly and the blond knew he'd get nothing further. Not now, though perhaps later. "I'll ask again."

"I have no other answer." Kili said, his tone a bit on the short side.

Fili opened his mouth, though truthfully he had no idea what he'd been about to say.

A hurried shout, the whinny of a distressed animal, came suddenly. Both brothers whipped their heads around and watched as an older dwarrow made a hasty retreat from an agitated horse that could clearly be seen gathering itself for possibly kicking out while his handler struggled to keep hold of the harness. The horse tried to wheel around, his eyes gone round with agitation and distress, though it wasn't clear what had spooked the animal.

Fili and Kili both stepped backwards, their eyes on the animal even as it started to calm. A whoosh and a startled sound had him turning toward his left side, but his brother wasn't there. He looked down and then had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He failed.

Peals of laughter had everyone looking in Kili's direction as he scowled, having stepped backwards onto the icy stones of the pathway instead of the safety of the snow. The brunet scowled at everyone even as he grudgingly accepted his older brother's outstretched hand. Or tried to, his right shoulder protested sharply as he realized he'd used that arm to break his fall. Reluctantly he caught his brother's hand with his left instead.

"Ow." Kili snarled as the blond started to pull him up, then he grimaced as he regained his feet. Or foot. Only one. His right leg wasn't accepting weight as his face paled. "Damn it."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Teldu wasn't a vain dwarrowdam, but after her father stopped by to speak with her she did clean herself up a bit. Nothing fancy. Retying the ribbon holding back her braids, making sure there were no stains on her apron, that sort of thing. Nerves danced along her skin as she sniffed, not happy that she'd been working on some garlic loaves earlier.

Still. She'd hurt someone before admitting that she was primping for Fili's arrival. After he'd ignored her ever since his mother had caught them together. Had the princess objected? Was she being overly sensitive? No. Fili had been seen around town, even in the smithy across the road from the bakery. He'd not so much as looked in her direction.

Teldu straightened her shoulders. She wasn't some simpering maid and she wasn't going to act like one. When Fili arrived, he'd be lucky if she had time for him. She moved to the bowls holding the rising bread dough, working the gases out and setting them to rise a second time. Wondering how long it would be before a certain blond came through her door.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Ice wrapped cloth pushed down on Kili's right thigh, making the brunet let loose a harsh word.

Dis cuffed him, much like she had when he'd been a dwarfling.

"Mam!" He protested.

Fili laughed and shook his head, golden braids moving as the beads set there caught the light.

"I'm fine." Kili sighed heavily. He rotated his shoulder through the full range of motion. "See? I just jarred it a bit, that's all."

"You'll be sore in the morning." Dis frowned softly at her youngest.

"Thorin would have me out chopping wood, this is nothing!" Kili barked without thought, then paled as he sucked in a hard breath. "Mam, I'm sorry."

The sudden sadness in the room had everyone taking a moment, finally Dis nodded. "Yes, he would have. And I'd have scolded him for it too." She said, not speaking of her great sorrow at the loss of her brother. Her voice had sounded a bit strained though, around the edges.

"Mam?" Fili this time.

Dis shook her head and forced a brave smile. "In Erebor, everyone spoke so highly of Thorin, elevating him to a hero. Which was wonderful to hear, but these were the dwarrow who didn't follow him. Until after he'd won, and was gone. Hearing of him from those who knew and loved him, daily? That's different. Don't hide him from your thoughts, or words. That would sorrow me more."

Bofur grunted in agreement even as he painted a cloth with a paste of comfrey and coltsfoot before wrapping it up.

Kili eyed him cautiously. "I don't need that." He protested, then stiffened as he heard the front door open. His eyes flew to those of his mother. "Mam." He said, pulling his leg of her lap and letting the ice compress fall to the floor where he kicked it across the room, though with his left foot. He sat up and smiled brightly.

Dis fought a smile as she eyed her son's efforts. "Ten coppers, under five minutes."

Bofur whistled and shook his head. "Ten, under two minutes."

Fili grinned. "I'll take that, but less than one."

Kili's eyes grew wide and it was obvious he wanted to protest but couldn't as Tauriel walked by the open door of the sitting room. She smiled at the gathering and then was gone.

Dis smiled, then lost that smile as the red-haired she-elf came back, frowning as she looked back into the room. Her green-eyes narrowed in on her husband's face. "How bad?"

Fili whooped and held out his hands for payment while the others bickered in good-natured fun.

"Slipped on the ice. I'm fine." Kili groused, clearly unhappy.

Tauriel's eyes moved to Fili first, then Dis. Seeing no worry, she relaxed a bit, losing tension as she moved closer. She then looked at her husband and whatever she'd been about to say disappeared at the anger she saw there. Reading him correctly she realized that coddling him was not the answer. "We need more firewood."

Fili hooted, slapping his knee while Dis roared, throwing back her head.

Bofur grinned and held up the packet of herb paste he'd been working on. Tauriel leaned in and sniffed. She frowned. "What about valerian or fenugreek?"

Kili tried to frown, but found he couldn't keep the dour expression as a rueful grin spread slowly across his face. "Ah, love. I'm fine."

The red-head eyed him, weighing her next decision carefully. He didn't appear overly injured, except for his pride. She backed off, nodding. "Don't overdo it."

Her reward was a blinding smile and a rough kiss as he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her forward. She grinned against his smile, feeling her face pinken for all those watching.

And just like that, the intangible 'distance' between them vanished like so much mist when the sun comes out.

Fili grinned, nodding as he watched.

Bofur grumbled a bit in good-natured fun, but he too was happy. He sighed and wondered aloud what they should have for supper.

The blond shook his head, rising to his feet as he demurred. "I'm for dinner with Dern and his family."

Everyone fell silent, and then Bofur nodded solemnly. "Grand."

Fili's blue eyes went from one person to another, all were staring at him hopefully. He sighed heavily and shook his head as he grimaced. "All of you? I can't fight all of you."

"Then don't." Dis rose and started to straighten her eldest son's leathers, tweaking pieces until they hung better and rubbing at a clip with her sleeve to get rid of a smudge. She ignored the blue eyes rolling at her as he grinned and patted his cheek. "I don't know her, but I'd like to get that chance. Not tonight though. Go make nice and behave, I'll meet her another time?" It was a question.

Nodding, Fili ducked his head with a false play at bashfulness that drew his mother's laugh, as he'd intended.

"Go." She ordered.

He went.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Nurbera opened the back door and eyed the young dwarrow standing there grinning at her. She sniffed and nodded at him. "Have we met?"

Fili's smile dimmed a bit and he sighed. "I have reasons."

"They're not good enough." Teldu's mother told him, her eyes snappy.

"How do you know, you haven't heard them." The blond said in his most charming manner.

It was wasted effort as Nurbera shook her head at him. "They still won't be good enough." She sighed and nodded at him as she stepped aside to let him in the house. "So, did she say how much longer she'd be at the bakery?"

Fili stilled, half in the door and half out. "I haven't seen her."

Nurbera's eyes widened. "Dern said you'd be going by the bakery first, to bring home the baker and something for dinner as well."

Fili grimaced as he backed away. "That, oh damn. I …Kili fell, and I took him home, and then …I'll be right back."

Nurbera watched as the younger male took off at a run and finally allowed herself to smile. She went back into her kitchen and looked at the fine roast she'd prepared. Making a quick decision she called the others to come to the table.

Dern was the first to walk in, and he frowned as he saw his wife removing two plates from the table. "What now?"

"They'll be late, if at all." Nurbera winked at him.

The protective father's mouth tightened as he shook his head.

"She's of age, and they're getting married. Unless I miss my guess, they'll take their time talking and they'll be back. I trust them." She smiled at her poor beleaguered husband. "I'll save them some dinner."

"And if you guess wrong?" Dern asked sternly.

Nurbera laughed and lowered her voice as she heard her younger daughter in the hallway. "We'll move the date of the wedding up."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"I'll lock up."

Maren's head jerked slightly as he turned toward Fili, who'd come in through the back door of the bakery. He glanced out the window, giving a soft grunt as he estimated the time.

"No custom, go home." Fili told him, his voice gruff but not unfriendly. If he was nervous, it didn't show other than the blond was holding himself tighter than usual.

The Human male weighed his options, but moved slowly. More slowly than his healing leg warranted. It was clear he was uneasy about something.

The sides of Fili's mouth quirked upwards. "I'm here to escort her home for dinner." That was as far as he was willing to explain himself to anyone other than Teldu herself.

Maren tilted his head cockeyed at that pronouncement and simply blinked, also slowly.

Grimacing, the blond ran an agitated hand over his hair and shrugged.

"It's alright, Maren." Teldu told her helper and guard. "I'm locking up."

At that pronouncement the Human nodded more readily, though his gray eyes seemed to bore right through Fili as he moved toward the exit. He then smiled in thankfulness as Teldu held out a sack with some of the day's unsold goods and handed him the weekly wage.

Fili watched the Man leave, while Teldu followed behind him in order to lock the door and secure the shutters over the window. Glass panes that size were a luxury, he knew well enough. He continued to watch as she tidied up the counters and work areas, while she refused to even look in his direction.

"Your mother says I have no excuse good enough." He admitted this readily enough, knowing she had to be angry with him.

Teldu's spine straightened, but she didn't turn, not yet. Nor did she speak.

All sorts of clever phrases and charming words had flitted through his head all evening, but when it came down to it he just coldly threw out the truth. "Coryan is dead. Murdered. Torn open like a butchered animal, to make sure that she wasn't left carrying my child."

The harsh words finally had Teldu turning to look at him. "And you thought to spare me? Cut me off without asking or explaining? Make my decisions for me? Protect me. Very noble. So ….why not tell me then?" Her voice was sharp and her spooky blue eyes pinned on him.

Fili laughed, a truly non-humorous and harsh sound that held no joy, no light. "Protecting you is a worthy goal." He countered, then shook his head. "But letting you go is no way to achieve such a thing. I left Coryan behind and look what happened to her. No."

"Your former betrothed, I am presuming." She threw out there as a barbed reminder he'd never told her the other dwarrowdam's name.

"Aye." Fili's nod was short and abrupt as he looked away from her.

"So. To protect me you are NOT letting me go?" She mused aloud, her voice more than faintly mocking. "You're doing such a good job of keeping me close, especially these last few days."

"I know."

Teldu stopped. She simply stopped and turned to stare at the dwarrow she'd fallen in love with. He'd sounded so miserable it pierced right through her anger. Fili stood there, his blue eyes full of sorrow and other rioting emotions, and she had no idea what was at the center of it all. "What?" Her voice gentled.

Fili spread his hands and took a deep breath. "I was betrothed to Coryan. You know, you KNOW I wasn't in love. But political marriages often aren't, not to start with anyway. But she was clever and smart and would have made a good queen. Innocent. Whatever her faults she didn't deserve this. I feel guilty precisely because I didn't love her, and some small, dark, ugly place within me was relieved …so relieved that it wasn't you."

Hearing his praise of the other dwarrowdam hurt, but not as much as the self-loathing she could hear in Fili's voice. She took a step toward him without thought, her words cutting right to the center of the matter. "You didn't kill her."

"Didn't I? Didn't we?" Fili gestured back vaguely in the direction of his home. "Mam says that Dain asked her to release the betrothal, freeing both of us from it even though they all thought me dead. It was supposed to help protect her. Instead, it drew attention to her. Mordor's attention."

Teldu shook her head, her thoughts racing through her mind. "You don't know that." When Fili opened his mouth and appeared to be about to argue, she stepped even closer. "No! You don't, you can't know that for truth. From what you've explained, Mordor had a price on your head long before you even left on the quest to free Erebor. That means the Deceiver probably would have killed anyone so connected to you, betrothal or not." She paused, her breathing a bit heavier, as she considered his not-quite neutral expression. "You've already thought of that."

"I'm not sure it matters. It comes down to this, if Coryan hadn't been once or ever engaged to marry me, she would still be alive."

"And if any of a thousand decisions, reactions, or thoughts had been even slightly different your quest wouldn't have succeeded. Or your uncle would have survived. You can't second guess life, Fili." Teldu took the final steps that brought her up before the handsome dwarrow. She reached for his hands and he pulled back, but she wasn't ready to be denied. She held out her own hand demandingly until at last he reached for her.

"The worst is, I can't step away from you. Knowing that I put you in danger, I am not strong enough not to love you. I love you."

Teldu caught her breath, her eyes misting slightly as she fought not to let him see. Love. She'd known how she felt, and even knew how he felt. But he'd not said the word before, not like that.

"Fili." She drew out his name in a near croon, her voice whisper soft. "I'm safer with you than without."

The blond snorted lightly, his nostrils flaring as he grimaced. Yet his grip on her hand tightened somewhat. "I needed time and space to think it through."

"To wallow in guilt." She poked at him deliberately.

Fili closed his eyes and when he finally opened them he gave her a chiding look. "Is that any way to speak to your king?"

Her eyes flicked up saucily at the top of his head. "No crown."

His hand tightened further on hers as he let forth a low growl that did funny things to her insides. "Don't do it again, that's the order from your queen, mighty king."

Hearing the teasing, and the acceptance, in her voice, Fili was actually able to offer a weak smile. He leaned in carefully and then reached up and flicked her hair bow. "No crown. Yet."

Yet? Teldu's eyes went round and wide as she leaned back without actually moving away. "What do you mean? You've vowed not to return to the Lonely Mountain."

"Not Erebor. I'll tell you later, we have much to discuss." Fili told her and then tugged her back into his personal space. "But first, I really need to kiss you. Really, really need to hold you."

No shrinking violet, Teldu gave him a half-smirk and then leaned up to steal a kiss. He met her half-way, his arms moving around her eagerly as they both pressed hotly against one another.

The initial rush and urgency slowed as they pulled back from each other, staring at one another before moving back together more slowly. Their kiss turned languid and steamy, his hands wrapping around her and melding her body so close to his own she could feel every decorative bit on his leathers.

Someone moaned out loud, and someone's hands began to wander.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dern looked up with some urgency as the couple came through to the dining area from the kitchen. He eyed the young duo and the ease with which they stood together. He grunted happily and sent a look over to the mantle time-piece with a raised brow. "They didn't miss dinner entirely."

Nurbera frowned, though she was happy to see her daughter smiling and Fili looking happy. "Back so soon?"

Teldu felt a rare flush heat up her cheeks as she shook her head at her parents. Fili held out a chair for her at the dining table and then took the seat next to her.

Cleadeth managed to chew and swallow without choking and pointed at her sister's hand. "How did you hurt yourself?"

Dern's concerned eyes flew to the indicated hand and the bandage wrapped thickly around it.

"Cut myself today. Knife. I was distracted, but am fine." Teldu now blushed with true heat, her eyes refusing to meet those of either parent. Fili kept his mouth shut and reached for the potatoes, serving his bride-to-be first.

Nurbera watched the two acting so innocently and decided to get to the bottom of this story. "Did you need it stitched?"

"It's fine." Teldu muttered. "Adad? Would you carve me a slice of the roast, please?"

Fili stared at his plate, his own face a bit pink as he studiously avoided making eye contact with either of Teldu's parents.

Also, he was internally vowing that the next time he got carried away with Teldu in his arms, he'd make sure all the blades on his person were properly sheathed so that hot little hands wouldn't get sliced while trying to undress him.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Goodnight, Mam. Dwalin." Kili yawned, stretching as he rose.

Dis watched as her son stretched his arms overhead, looking for any sign that his shoulder bothered him. But he only winced slightly and beckoned him closer for a kiss on the cheek.

"Tauriel already gone up?" Nori asked while feeding another log onto the fireplace in the study where they were gathered. They had been up for hours, chatting, sharing memories and catching up. Only Fili was still missing, out late. But that was fine as far as each of them were concerned, they'd known he was going to spend the evening with his lass. The fact that he wasn't back yet was a goodly sign.

In fact, Kili had been staying up in order to meet with his brother. But it was getting later and he had wanted to get an early start on the morning. With a greater number of people in the house there were more mouths to feed, but the amount of supplies they had remained constant. He needed to hunt.

"Dwalin? Nori? Early?" Kili sent both a look of reminder of their plans. "Bofur, want to join in?"

"Love to." The hatted dwarrow puffed lazily on his pipe as he carved some bit or bob with a small blade. "But I need to check the venting in the kitchen, it got smoky in there last night and again tonight. Not a lot, but there might be some debris which needs clearing."

"Early. Unless the weather turns bad." Dwalin had mentioned that he didn't like the look of the skies that night. But now he waved at Kili with a grunt, turning back to the card game he was playing with Nori. He kept his eyes glued to his opponent's hand movements, sure the red-head was cheating somehow. Nori just smiled innocently.

Kili laughed and bid each a good eve and headed up the stairs, though not at his usual pace of bounding up two at a time. His leg really did hurt some, though it wasn't bad.

Easing open the door he peered in and spied Tauriel asleep in the bed. On his side. Kili smiled in the dim light she'd left burning for him. The young husband stoked the fire a bit and blew out the lamp, undressing by the light of the flames.

"Ah, sweet." Kili lifted the comforter and sheets as he prepared to slide in next to his warm wife, from her usual side of the bed.

Tauriel shifted sleepily and shook her head against the pillow. "Over here." She patted the spot she'd been lying in and scooted over.

Kili grinned in the dimness and moved to the other side of the bed in order to climb in. He sighed happily as she'd warmed the sheets for him with her body. "Why do you always fall asleep on my side?"

He'd asked her a dozen times, but perhaps always when she was fully awake for she never answered before now. "It smells like you." She muttered so low he had to strain to hear her.

His grin grew with a soft laugh. "Perhaps we need to wash the sheets

"It would still smell of you." She murmured, more than half-way asleep again.

Kili felt his heart trip over her simple declaration of love, for that was what it was even if the word was never mentioned. He reached for his sleeping wife, and cuddled her close, wrapping his strong arms around her.

Tauriel awoke just enough to turn her head, but not open her eyes. "Are you hurting? How's your leg?"

"Well enough, go to sleep." Kili yawned deliberately and kissed the side of her face with tenderness. She was asleep before he could lay his head down on his own pillow. He wasn't far behind.

The sound of the wind woke him much later. Kili usually woke alert, a left over from a life-time spent on watches and guarding trading caravans. His internal time sense told him it was early, early. And there were footsteps approaching his door.

A soft tap had him rising. He cracked the door to see Dwalin staring at him seriously. "Weather dumped near a foot of snow already, more coming. We're shut in for the day at least."

Kili frowned, though he wasn't alarmed. "Fili?"

"Home hours ago." Dwalin nodded. At Kili's look he sighed. "He seemed happy enough."

Relieved, the dark-haired prince nodded and closed the door, padding back to the now low fire. He poked and prodded and fed it until it blazed cheerily again. The stack of firewood was running a bit low, but Hthere was plenty stored out back, he wasn't worried. A snowed-in day wasn't going to hazard much of a problem for them. He hoped the same could be said for their neighbors.

Distracted, Kili slid back into bed, wrapping the down-filled comforter around himself and making sure his wife was covered as well. He wrapped his arms back around her, causing her to snuggle even closer. Which caused his body to rise to attention behind her.

Kili smiled in the dark and shifted back slightly, she followed. With a soft laugh of self-depreciation, he ran his hand over the ultra-soft skin of her hip and urged her to stay there as he shifted a bit.

Tauriel made a protesting noise and cuddled up right against him, her backside into his now aching groin. "Have mercy." He begged with a laugh and a grin.

"No." Came the murmured reply, and to prove her recalcitrance she added a small wiggle with her buttocks that made his eyes flutter shut.

Kili groaned and retaliated, rising up behind her and biting her upper arm while his arms tightened about her. "You're playing with forge fire."

Her response was to gently trace the knuckles on his right hand and slowly begin to push his hand exactly where she wanted it. From there Kili knew exactly what to do with his clever fingers, and he proceeded to prove it as she moaned, her head arching backwards as the two of them played in the snowy pre-dawn.

This was no rushed coming together, but a languid sharing of soft touches and murmured words of love. Gently he stoked her up and up until she shuddered in his arms, going limp with pleasure.

Not done, his hand moved to her thigh and lifted, making room as he slid tightly inside. A soft cry escaped her as she bit her lip, arching into him and offering him everything she had.

Kili waited until she was cresting once again, his own body tightening with delicious anticipation. Aching, with his breathing growing ragged, he declared his utter love for her in words that culled tears from her eyes even as her body trembled with its second release.

Long moments passed as they remained cocooned together in bed, snow falling heavily outside with the occasional whistle of the wind against the house. Finally, Tauriel stirred slightly. "Kili?"

He ran a hand down her side in protest, but then yawned. "Hunting trip cancelled, snow is too deep. Go back to sleep."

"I want a pickle."

Kili fought to keep his groan inaudible as his dark eyes opened. "A pickle?"

"Or some eggs. And a pickle."

"Those are downstairs." Kili protested. "And I like you right here." He demonstrated that by pulling her in tighter against him, turning her onto her back as he slid up so that he could kiss her senseless.

Tauriel melted hotly into his kisses, wrapping her arms around him possessively. But when he drew back and smiled at her, she shook her head. "Eggs. Pickle. Is there any pie left over?"

"It's cold down there." He protested, not even thinking of suggesting she get up for herself.

"Pie. Kili. Pie." Her green eyes looked so sadly earnest that he didn't have a chance.

Kili grumbled and growled, but climbed out of bed and into his pants from the night before. Running a hand through his messy hair he threw a shirt on loosely and headed for the kitchen. His feet chilled as he padded toward his goal.

Dis and Fili both looked up as he entered, and his Mam offered to pour him a cup of black tea.

"Pie." Shaking his head, Kili lifted the cover but found no pie. He frowned.

"Last bite." Fili grinned and held up his empty plate. "You're too late."

Kili swore and glared at his brother as he banged around the kitchen in order to prepare some eggs instead.


	46. Baking

"I have apologized." Fili said, exasperation in his voice as he studiously avoided looking at the she-elf who had married his baby brother. He rolled his shoulders and stared down at the leather he was getting ready to cut. His wide shoulders hunched, even though Tauriel said nothing. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you were going to be wanting pie."

The red-head nodded, her own eyes steady on the yarn she was trying to knit, her face scowling. "I said nothing."

"I can feel you saying nothing." He muttered under his breath as they sat companionably together in the well-heated kitchen. The snows were thick outside, though the storm had lessened somewhat.

Bofur grinned easily, his feet stretched out before him and propped on a low stool as he leaned back, steadying himself against the kitchen wall. "She didn't say anything. But you've been apologizing for over an hour now, lad."

Fili's piercing blue eyes flared with temper, which he directed at Bofur who had the gall only to grin back at him unaffected. He sneered at his friend's relaxed pose. "Lazy?"

Bofur chuckled, moving not a bit as he gave a cheerful whistle. "Working. Waiting on the glue to dry. And I stayed up late last night unblocking the kitchen chimney so as you ….could ….warm …up ….the …last …of …the ….pie."

Tauriel now looked up herself, her gaze sliding from one dwarrow to the other. "I am fine. I do not feel a lack, I ate a very nice breakfast." She said in a reassuring manner.

"But no pie." Bofur managed to inflect such sorrow into his voice that the effort was worthy of a travelling bard. "Kili said you'd been wanting pie. Excuse me. The baby was wanting pie. And here was a slice all down here and ready for the young wee babe …."

Fili slammed his hand down on the table with more effort than his work warranted. "How was I to know that she would be wanting pie?"

"There is no need for this." Tauriel protested gently, a soft frown on her face. "I have asked for no apology, and indeed all is well."

Bofur gave her a chiding look and pursed his lips at her. "You give in too swiftly, lass. Far too nice. You should make him drudge through the icy wastes and beg his betrothed to bake him a new pie."

Fili scowled, though his mind started racing. He listened to the wind howling just outside and tried to gauge just how deep the snow would be on him right about now.

"The pie would freeze before he could make it back." Tauriel pointed out logically.

Bofur grinned, sensing a weakening. "Ah, but the chimney is all clean and the fire is all cheerful. It would heat up again so nicely." He used one finger to tilt his hat back further on his head as he pinned his gaze to the she-elf. "Pie."

Tauriel stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "If I wanted pie that badly I would make the trip to Dern's house myself. It would be an easier trip for me, actually." She admitted, since she was not only taller, but far lighter. Elves had been known to walk on top of snow and not sink for the most part.

Fili blinked, having sensed the slight hesitation in her voice. Something he would have missed if not for the fact they'd all been living so closely now. Guilt ate at him as his eyes travelled down Tauriel's profile to the gentle mound of her belly, and the baby within. "I would not send you out in this."

Now Tauriel did frown, an unreadable look flashing behind her green eyed gaze. "Yet, you went ahead and sent Kili out in this."

Her words were measured and without heat, still Fili shoulders hunched up again, guilt pricking him deeply. He had, he had indeed sent his brother out into the storm. "To bring extra firewood inside so it can dry." He muttered defensively. And so what if it was because it had been to shut his brother up? Kili had proven more upset over the lack of pie in the house than had his wife. "And to check on our nearest neighbor, if he can get through the snow. He's a dwarrow warrior, what is some snow to that?"

Tauriel frowned, her fingers stilling as she put the knitting down in her lap. Her eyes flicked toward Bofur and then thoughtfully back over to Fili. Her brow furrowed. "I hope Dern and his family are set for firewood." She asked, worry tinging her voice just slightly.

Fili shook his head. "Dern's house is made of sturdy stone. He's fine."

"Of course." Tauriel picked at a twisted stitch two rows down and wondered if she should try and fix it. She let the moment stretch on until Fili had looked back down at his leather work once more. "But Dern is the only male in the household, and he was so busy helping out his cousin with that fence these last few days."

Bofur said nothing, simply sat back and watched avidly.

Fili blinked with a touch of suspicion. "Dern runs a smooth household, busy or not, there will be plenty of firewood to ride out this storm. And I know for a fact he swept the weight of the snow off of his roof just the other day." Fili said with more confidence than he felt. Suddenly he wondered, as he did now that the redoubtable merchant certainly had been busy lately.

Tauriel let the moment stretch out yet again, though this time Fili was slow to turn his attention back to the leather he was going to cut. Just as he reached for the shears, she spoke once more. Softly. Concerned.

"Did Maren sweep off the roof of the bakery? I can't remember if I noticed."

Fili's jaw clenched as his hand fisted and unfisted, his blue eyes now glaring at his sister-by-marriage. "I'm sure he did. Or Dern did." He amended as he remembered that Maren's leg was still healing.

Tauriel met his look, though she seemed unaware of the intensity of his gaze or his rising temper. "Oh, well then I suppose it is all well. I'm glad of it. I would hate to think of what could …."

Fili growled and the she-elf paused. She blinked innocently at him. "I could go over to Dern's just to be sure." Tauriel offered, her voice calm and apparently unaffected by the dwarrow staring holes at her.

Fili rose, tossing his tools down on the table as he proudly straightened his leathers. "You win, I'll go. I suppose you want me to bring back pie?"

Tauriel smiled at him, shaking her head. "Not necessary, I told you, I'm fine. The baby is fine. We are hardly starving."

Dis walked into the kitchen just in time to have Fili sweep by her without a word, his head held high. She glanced at her son, and then over at the other two. Dis hesitated, waiting until Fili was out of sight. "What?"

Bofur grinned, sitting up and nodding at the dwarrowdam.

Tauriel held up her knitting, frowning at the short piece and spying at least seven missed or twisted stitches. "I am not getting the rhythm of this." She looked up and smiled. "And I just tricked your eldest son into going over to Dern's and getting me a pie."

Bofur slapped his knee and shook his head as he laughed. "You told him specifically you didn't want a pie."

"He'll come back with one." Tauriel said, a hint of smug satisfaction in her voice. "He'll be freezing and miserable, and I will have pie."

Dis lifted her eyebrows in consideration, eying the female who had married her youngest. "Is this because he ate the last piece?"

"No." Tauriel shook her head and started unravelling her work. "I wasn't lying when I said I had no problems going without pie. This was because Fili sent Kili out in this storm so he wouldn't have to deal with his brother's disapproval." She frowned gently. "If Kili has to go out in it, so should Fili."

"Ah." Dis ignored the still laughing Bofur as she nodded. "We'll make a proper dwarrowdam out of you yet." She reached over and tweaked the soft yarn with a sigh. "I'm not the best with knits. We really need Ori."

Bofur's laughter faded to a wistful smile as he thought of the young dwarrow still back in Erebor. "Aye. Aye, we do."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Dern growled and shivered before the kitchen hearth, shaking his head and letting ice and snow whip around him while his daughters squealed and leapt back, laughing.

"Da, your beard is naught but an icicle!" Cleadeth hit at it with her hands. "Hold still, let me break it off."

"You might break off the beard entirely. Let it melt a bit first." Teldu laughed, shaking her head even as she made a grab for her father's impressive beard.

Dern wrapped both gloved hands around the icy appendage under attack and stepped away, grinning devilishly. "Away with you both! I have been dealing with snow in me beard longer than both of you have been alive. Now, where's your mam?"

Cleadeth grinned and handed her grateful father a cup of heated wine. "There was some noise that sounded like the root cellar door might be damaged, she's checking it out." Before her father could ask, she added. "She told me to stay until you got back and to start supper."

Dern nodded and flicked a glance at the thick bandage around Teldu's right hand signifying her recent injury. He frowned. He'd just gotten back from making sure all was well at the bakery and he felt near frozen and he wanted nothing more than to thaw before the fire. Yet there was no real contest about what he should do. "I'll help your mam, you come with me." He turned to his eldest. "Stay. Don't mess up your hand, but can you …."

"I'll be fine, da." Teldu assured him. "Cleadeth already started warming bath water, and all I need to do with dinner is to stir and keep it from burning. I can help you."

Dern patted her cheek and shook his head, as she'd known he would. "Bang on the wall next to the root cellar if you need anything."

"It's just a cut." Teldu protested, even though she knew her father well enough to know he'd deny her.

"Deep cut, with stitching to hold it for good mending. Your mam didn't like how close it got to severing muscle." The dwarrow father nodded in approval as Cleadeth hurried back in with her heavy winter gear. "Keep the wound clean and don't put pressure on it and it will heal better and faster. Be more careful with your tools, daughter."

"Yes 'adad." Teldu rolled her eyes affectionately, drawing a rueful chuckle from her father.

"Oh. That Ranger fellow. I checked on him out in that shelter he's planning on fixing up. He'll be showing up here soon, invited him to stay." Dern said gruffly and ignored the surprise and shock on his daughters' faces. Inviting Humans to stay with them? "We was talking and he mentioned how tonight is an Elvish celebration and all and I felt bad for him all alone out there. That shelter wasn't holding back the cold very well." Dern sounded gruff despite his words, as if he found it embarrassing that he'd felt badly for the lone Ranger in their town. "Something called lesool onlosa or something strange and foreign like that."

"And you invited him here?" Cleadeth asked, taken aback by her father's action. Not that she disapproved, but just that it wasn't like Dern to be concerned about Humans that much.

Teldu wasn't as surprised, having listened more to some of the conversations between Fili and their father. Still, for their da to take such a step it was a surprise. "I'll make sure we have enough. Do you know if this Elvish celebration has any special foods that go with it?"

Dern though appeared to have said all he wanted to on the subject. "He'll eat what we serve or go without." He stalked toward the door with Cleadeth following in his wake, sending her sister a confused look as she went. At the outer door, Dern paused. "We have anything sweet to offer?"

"Nothing fresh." Teldu shook her head. "But I could make a pudding, it wouldn't be too hard. Some sponge cake left over."

"Don't go to trouble, not with your hand. And no knives! Not like you to be so careless." Dern shook his head. "Plain fare will be fine."

Teldu sighed as she was left alone in the kitchen, the sound of the wind against the stones of the house her lone companion. She first checked the foods, stirring where necessary and spicing where needed. "Wasn't careless." She muttered to herself.

She heard some knocking over where she would expect, near the root cellar door. If it were broken open she hoped they could fix it enough not to ruin what they had in storage down there. Spring was on the way, even if you couldn't tell due to winter's strong grip. Still, it would be a while before fresh produce was readily available again. Not to mention that what was planted still had to be given time to grow. No, the foods stored in the root cellar had to last a while yet.

The heavy knock on the door didn't startle her as she headed that way. Opening the door with a smile. "I'm afraid we don't know what to serve for such a celebration, but you are welcome here."

Fili stood there shivering in the cold, snow and ice caking his mustache braids. He stared at her, not sure what to make of her words.

Teldu stared back at him with her pale blue eyes until he made a move as if to enter. Automatically she backed away, blushing that she hadn't invited him in sooner. "What are you doing here?"

"Who were you expecting?" The words came out harsher for having teeth chattering around them. Fili frowned and headed for the hearth fire.

Teldu turned to the pot warming the wine, but her hands were awkward as she tried to work around the thick bandage. Fili shook his head at her and served himself though he was half-frozen.

"You are covered in snow." She protested. "You're going to spill that!"

Fili gave her a baleful look and shook himself off as best he could, downing the heated wine in a long gulp without spilling a drop despite the cold making his hands tremor a bit. "Observant."

Teldu gave him a cross look and Fili grimaced. "Sorry."

"Do you have firewood? Is the bakery tended and roof swept? Is all well? Do you have pie?"

Fili's teeth were still chattering some and Teldu listened with growing disbelief. "You trekked all the way out here for ….well of course da took care of all that!"

"I thought so." Fili grimaced and shook the ice particles out of his mustache braids. "Please tell me you have pie. Tauriel really, really wants pie."

"Poor dear, is she having cravings?" Teldu's expression melted with understanding.

For all the gold in the world Fili was not about to admit that he'd taken the last piece of pie. Even as he internally protested that there had been no sign on that pie that said he shouldn't!

"Or is this for the Elvish celebration that's tonight?"

Fili froze. Not the freezing of the ice and snow kind either. He stared. "Elvish celebration?" He asked with some hesitancy.

Teldu though looked saddened. "She's the only elf in town, of course she wants something special tonight. Apparently it's some big thing. Da invited that Ranger over to share supper. He's the one who mentioned it. I thought it was him arriving just now."

Dunrid. A picture of the Ranger flashed through Fili's mind, standing along with that Erestor fellow. An Elvish celebration? Tonight? And he'd taken the last piece of pie? Damn. Tauriel hadn't mentioned anything, had she? No, Kili would have brought it up if she had. Still. The red-head didn't throw Elvish things at them all the time. Only that one time really, about the names. Shame bit him deeply. Had he and the other dwarves been taking Tauriel for granted? Ignoring her elvish nature and needs?

Fili's mood sunk to new lows. "She mentioned pie." He looked around the kitchen almost hopefully.

Teldu shook her head at him. "No, sorry. Doesn't your mam bake?"

"Badly." Fili admitted. "She is not the best cook. I think Bofur might be able to manage a pie. But really, his brother was the one who did all the real cooking for them." He grimaced. "I can make cookies, but we're out of raisins."

Teldu silently held up her hand and Fili winced strongly. The dwarrowdam straightened and shook her head. "You're going to make the pie."

The blond prince shook his head.

"No, you are. Do what I tell you and everything will be fine." Teldu moved around the kitchen and pointed at things. "I'll need that, and that. No, the deeper one. Yes."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Well met! Well met!" Gloin grinned and held out his arms for his son as Gimli rushed him near the main entrance to the underground kingdom. "Have a care for an old warrior, lad! I have to meet with the king first and then I'm all yours." He ruffled his son's hair, a match to his own fiery mane. "Your beard has grown at least a foot since I last saw ye!"

Gimli preened under his father's praise and warm welcome. Gloin clapped him heartily on the shoulder as he caught sight of the dwarrow with his son. "Ori! All is well?"

Expecting no less, Gloin turned his bright smile back on his son for a moment, making comment on the fine leather pouch the lad was showing him. When he looked back at Ori it was to see a rather weak smile, and no answer. "Lad?"

Ori clamped his lips tightly shut and shook his head.

Gloin slowed, his smile dimming around the edges even as Gimli pelted his father with question after question about his trip to negotiate with the Stiffbeards. What were they like? Had they seen to his comfort? Where they as strange as rumored? Gloin heard him, and answered absently. Finally he shook himself and sent Gimli off to find his mother so she could be greeted as well.

"Ori?" It was a loaded question that wasn't actually asked.

"I know nothing. Balin and Dori won't talk to me. Coryan was murdered by Mordor's agents, right here in the kingdom." The young Company member said in a low voice as Gloin stiffened in alarm. "The king has been in a foul mood, and looks at me funny."

"Funny?" Gloin knew the word wasn't used in the humorous meaning.

"Dwalin disappeared with Dis, and there's talk they eloped."

On this bit of news Gloin nearly choked as he swallowed wrong suddenly, coughing and hacking even as he shook his head in denial. "What?"

"Rumors everywhere." Ori warned even as some of Dain's guards approached. He fell silent as they neared, inviting Gloin to follow them to the King's personal study, not the throne room.

Gloin scowled, but nodded. "Ori. Stay here. When Gimli returns with my wife, would you be kind enough to escort them to my rooms?" When one of the guards volunteered for that duty, the red-bearded merchant shook his head and looked pointedly at Ori, who nodded.

"Did you run into any problems with the late snow storms?" One of the guards asked companionably, as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

Gloin answered in the same vein. "No, they were mostly far west of us, with no difficulties at all." Not from the weather anyway. The Stiffbeards were fierce negotiators, but then so was Gloin. But somehow he doubted this meeting with the king would be about trade. Mordor killing dwarves here inside Erebor? That wasn't good news. As for the target, he had a guess, and he hoped it was wrong.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Don't overwork it!" Teldu bumped Fili's hip with her own, her fingers literally twitching with the need to take over. "You're too rough!"

The blond sighed and shook his head. "I'm doing what you told me to do. Didn't I use ice water? Mam never used ice water to make a crust."

Teldu gave him a cross-eyed glare and then a huff of a laugh. "And how good were her pies?"

Fili stared at her a moment, his blue eyes thoughtful. "Point taken."

"Be firm, but gentle." Teldu peered into the bowl again, worried about the dough. "Don't paw at it."

"Oh?" Fili grinned down at her, though she wasn't looking at him. He licked his lips and lightened his touch. Teldu hummed approvingly. "Is that how you want me to touch you? Firm but gentle?"

The dwarrowdam drew back slightly so she could see his face, surprise clearly written across her features. And interest. Her eyes flicked to the back door and she shook her head at him. "This is all your fault, that I can't make that crust for you."

Fili's smile turned heated even as his fingers worked the dough. "My fault? It was your hands that were sliding inside of my clothing." He reminded her in a near purr.

In response she dumped a small amount of ice water directly onto the back of his hand, all without looking away from his gaze. He made a strangled noise and she shrugged. "The dough was getting crumbly."

"What was it you were looking for in my shirt? Underneath the leathers?" He asked suggestively.

Teldu flushed slightly and looked toward the door again. She licked her lips and shrugged. "Wasn't expecting to get sliced."

"Wasn't expecting to get undressed." He teased.

"You were loving it." She pointed out. "And your hands weren't exactly innocent at the time either."

"Yes." Fili grinned outrageously. "Is this alright?"

"What?"

"The dough, Teldu. The dough."

Startled, the dwarrowdam collected herself with a small shiver and inspected his work. She had to lick her lips twice though before she nodded. "Alright, now you'll divide this in half and work them into disks on a floured surface."

Both young dwarves straightened as soon as they heard the stomping of heavy boots just outside the back door to the kitchen. Nurbera and Cleadeth walked in, chattering and shivering as they stripped off their heavy outer clothing and went toward the fire.

Nurbera smiled over at Fili, though she looked intrigued to find him working with dough. "Not a nice day for being out and visiting."

"Making a pie for Tauriel. Some sort of special Elvish celebration tonight." Teldu explained.

Cleadeth exclaimed and grinned, asking what sort of things Elves did during such events. Would there be dancing? Music? Decorations? What sort of foods other than pie would be served?

Fili stared at her and cursed softly under his breath. "Pie."

"And what else?" Cleadeth asked with a huge smile. "Can we come? Will there be others there?"

"What others are you asking about, dear?" Nurbera gently tried to deter her younger daughter.

"Oh." The pretty young dwarrowdam smiled. "No one in particular. But I can help with the preparations. I know how to make a great spice cake better than Teldu's."

Nurbera cuffed her daughter sharply and Cleadeth grimaced. "Well, it's still a good spice cake. Arstok said it was better than the bakery."

"He was trying to court you at the time." Came the mother's exasperated response along with an exaggerated eye roll. "Dwarrow will tell any tale when courting."

A jab from Teldu's elbow brought Fili back to himself. She looked up at him. "Divide, disks, flour."

"Right." Fili sighed, his mind working fast on how to get a celebration together by tonight. In the middle of a snow storm.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Gloin listened as King Dain asked very pertinent and important questions about the trade agreements with the Stiffbeard clan. Yet for some reason the merchant couldn't shake the feeling that the subject was not what the king wanted to be discussing.

Dain stood with his back to Gloin, his hands clasped behind him and his feet battle-width apart.

The red-bearded merchant finally ground to a halt. He coughed. "Your majesty?"

"Are they sincere? The Stiffbeards? Do you think I can trust them?"

Had the king just stressed the word 'I' for some reason? Gloin cleared his throat. "Aye. As long as payment is forthcoming, they'll stand. Mordor makes them nervous, but they're not wanting to trade with the East. They express delight to have trade reopened with Erebor once again."

"Now that the Line is restored."

Gloin's expression clouded. Both at the subtle bitter twist in Dain's words, but also with the memory of three graves. He shifted back and forth on his feet, trying to find his balance mentally if not physically. "Sire?"

"You don't think my son will restore the Line of Durin?"

It was a pointed and direct question. Dain even turned and stared at Gloin, but the redoubtable warrior-merchant wasn't sure what role he was expected to play. "You worry about Mordor?" He side-stepped, trying to decipher the king's mood and meaning.

"Of course I worry about Mordor!" Dain shouted, whatever had been simmering in his temper for the entire meeting rising up suddenly.

"I heard the Queen's kin was …."

"Slaughtered. Like a pig or cow. Torn open to be assured there had been no secret pregnancy." Dain's eyes near glowed with hatred and disgust. "Damnable Mordor."

Gloin grunted in abject pity and sorrow. He hadn't known Coryan well, but she'd seemed sharp enough. "The queen?"

"Mourns, but the babe grows strong and healthy." Dain waved one hand in emphasis, but then fell silent. As if waiting.

Gloin stared, not knowing whether he should stay or go, speak or not. He cleared his throat, testing the waters so to speak.

"You don't know, do you?" Dain laughed, sounding something like a rusty sword scraping along rock. "I would have thought you of all dwarrow, but no. Leave me. Go catch up with your family …and friends."

Gloin shifted his weight again, hesitating. But looking at the resolute expression in Dain's eyes he nodded and bowed. "I will leave my formal reports with your aide. You'll know where to find me if there are any questions or problems."

Dain huffed out a sarcastic laugh and nodded. "No. You'll know where to find me, and you will have questions and problems."

Gloin hesitated further, but didn't think he could push the king for further answers. "To what friend should I be looking, sire?"

"You'll know." Came the cryptic response.

The red-head bowed low and made his escape. He paused outside the study. Whatever it was, Ori was in the dark. Of that he was sure. Dwalin was reportedly gone, with Dis. He shuddered. Elopement? Surely not. Balin then.

Nervous, he headed for his friend's quarters. What bad news could there be? For whatever this was, it was certainly not good.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Bofur? What am I supposed to be looking at?" Tauriel asked, having been escorted throughout the Coppernose mine for the past hour.

"Nice, spacious chamber." The dwarrow beamed at her, spreading his arms as if to present a finely appointed room rather than a part of a mining operation.

"Are Fili and Kili thinking of opening the mine to work it?" Tauriel asked, peering uncertainly at the stone walls. She knew next to nothing about mining.

"Could make a grand nursery." Bofur hinted broadly.

The she-elf stopped, staring in disbelief at the shorter male. "Living ….here? What about the house?"

"We're getting a might crowded, and it has been put forth that you and Kili will be needing some privacy and room for the little one to grow. And more little ones to add to that." Bofur said with a wink and what would have been a nudge if she hadn't side-stepped away from him.

Tauriel looked around the empty space, then scuffed her toe on the dirt floor. Her eyebrows rose. "I thought we would be looking to live in Khazad-dum."

"Er ….yes, well. Moria when not speaking in front of just dwarrow. Which you are, so Khazad-dum is entirely correct." Bofur stammered and gave her a cheesy grin. "But that will take a while. Decades more like."

Tauriel nodded, turning to stare at …rock.

Bofur grimaced and nodded. "I can tell the lads that we can move Dwalin and the others here. Leave you with the main house. Good, now that this is all settled we can head back." He clapped his hands together for emphasis.

The she-elf paused, her attention snagged. "Bofur …." She drew out his name like a warning.

The hatted dwarf blushed and pulled on the brim of his hat, bringing it lower over his eyes. Almost like he was hiding.

She crossed her arms.

His head drooped. "Act happy and surprised when we go back in, yes?"

Happy and surprised? Tauriel blinked and then nodded with understanding. This whole inspection of the mine had been merely to get her out of the house. She smiled. "I got pie, didn't I?"

Bofur grimaced and shrugged helplessly. "Er, maybe?"

Sure that she was right, Tauriel headed back toward the main house. Snow was piled deeply along the sides of the pathway, though she could have travelled easily enough on top. Bofur though couldn't have and it was nice that they'd gone to this trouble. "It's only a pie." The red-head said with a satisfied smile. "No need to stand on ceremony."

Tauriel and Bofur entered the house through the large workroom at the back near the kitchen. There they hung up their heavy outer gear and changed shoes so as to keep their feet warm and not track snow and ice through the house.

The kitchen was deserted, but there was the sound of industry in the main hall. Tauriel pushed through the door and stopped, staring.

Candles were everywhere, lit and glowing. Well, most of them.

Kili scowled from the tall ladder that Dwalin was holding steady. "Bofur! You're too early."

The hatted dwarrow shook his head in denial. "You're running behind, I was right on time."

Fili walked in and held out his hands with an offering, and a huge grin. "I made this, though Teldu directed. I still say the crust is too thin, but she insisted."

Tauriel held the thick towels that protected her hands from the still hot pie she was now holding, her green eyes wide with astonishment.

"Happy lesul onlos!" Fili threw open his arms as if to indicate the entire hall.

Dwarves hung from ladders and stopped in the middle of laying out a huge table of food and cakes. They all fairly beamed at her.

Tauriel blinked and teared up, her lip quivering lightly.

"Look, we weren't sure of the ceremony. Dunrid was supposed to help, but he was helping with some neighbors in need, though he'll be over later." Fili looked at her hopefully, appearing somewhat alarmed at her expression. "Don't cry."

Kili fairly slid down the ladder precariously, nearly falling at least once on the way down. He rushed over to Tauriel and for lack of knowing what to do, led her over to the table full of food. "We weren't sure what was proper for tonight, so I hope none of this offends."

"Offends?" A single tear dripped down the pale cheek of the she-elf. "You did all this for me?"

"Don't cry, sister." Fili said, pulling up a seat for her but when he would have taken the pie to put it on the table she wouldn't let it go, pulling her hands back slightly. "We made more than one." He teased.

"lusuon osa." Nori said, scratching his head. "What kind of celebration are we having tonight?"

Dis smacked him on the back with a chiding look before smiling over at her daughter-by-marriage. "I'm sure you butchered that. I speak Sindarin and couldn't make heads nor tails of what you just said."

Fili grinned, until his mam pinned him with a sharp look. "You didn't get it right either. Tauriel, correct their miserable words, would you please?"

The she-elf smiled a bit wobbly and shook her head with a shrug. "I have no idea what they're trying to say."

"le soon osa." Fili tried again. "lesun nosa?"

"Let's hope that pie is better than your tongue." Dis lamented with a shake of her head. "Losa. I think the last word is losa, as it has to do with snow. What celebration would be held tonight?"

Tauriel shrugged and bit her lip. "None." She admitted. "But I'm keeping the pie."

"Le soon …suilon? Le suilon losa?" Kili tried to parse it out, scratching the back of his neck. "Formal greeting of the snow?"

"I have no idea." Tauriel admitted. "What made you think it was an Elvish celebration?"

"The Ranger said so, to Dern. Maybe Dern got it mixed up." Fili said, a bit stunned after all the day's hard work.

"The Ranger?" Tauriel smiled warmly. "The Ranger who is allied with Elves ….from Imladris?" At Dwalin and Dis' lost expression she translated into Common. "Rivendell. I'm from the Mirkwood, not Rivendell."

"You don't have the same celebrations?" Nori asked, laughter in his voice.

"I'm sure some overlap, just apparently not this one." Tauriel shrugged haplessly. "There is a fasting day coming up as spring approaches, but not for at least another month. I don't know if it is the same in Rivendall. Or Gray Havens."

"Fasting? Not feast? I don't think I'll like that celebration." Kili admitted with a quick grin.

"So. If it's not a celebration tonight would you be willing to give up that pie?" Dwalin grumbled as he pointed.

Tauriel's obvious hesitation before agreeing made everyone else laugh and then they made their own celebration. She ended up sharing the pie with Dis, while everyone else made do with the rest of the food.


	47. Stone

Lord Elrond of Imladris blinked heavily, his vision clearing as he slowly became aware of poor Lindir talking about the state of the large contemplation fountain. His nose flared only slightly as he breathed in a bit deeper. "I asked about our borders." He said quietly, interrupting.

Lindir paused as if taken by surprise. He'd already given that report. "My lord?"

Elrond turned taking in Lindir's cautious expression and gave a soft grunt. He guessed that he'd missed his assistant's words. "My apologies."

"None are required." Lindir returned with a small dip of his head. "Should I fetch parchment?"

The Lord of Imladris smiled very slightly, more a quick upturn at the corner of his mouth than anything else. Lindir was subtly asking if he had been caught with his mind wandering, or had it been a vision to be recorded before forgotten.

Elrond stood, brushing off his robe unnecessarily. "I may need to pack for a journey."

Lindir didn't even blink at the command, long centuries of service had inured him to adjusting to the needs of following after often vague magical visions. "Long or short?" He asked practically.

Elrond hesitated. There had still been the bite of winter in his thoughts. "Short, possibly The season has not changed." He closed his eyes, using long mastered techniques to recollect what he could of the vision sent to him. Suddenly he stilled, that was not his hand, nor his ring. "The journey will not be mine." He said with soft conviction, his eyes tightening shut. "No." He still did not have the whole of it. "Not mine."

Lindir waited. He was good at that. He would have waited all day and night if necessary, for he had before. Still, it was nice when Lord Elrond spoke within but a few moments time.

"Not mine alone." The elf lord said quietly, his facial muscles smoothing out as if he'd just fit a difficult puzzle piece into place. "There will be three."

Lindir said nothing. He was good at that too.

"The ring I see is ancient, the stone perfect still, unblemished. Hidden. Buried."

"The one ring?" Lindir asked breathlessly, completely unlike himself. He never interrupted, never appeared impatient. But the idea of the one ring being found was exciting, and dreadful.

Elrond's eyes popped open as he shook his head, both physically and mentally. "No."

Embarrassed at his uncharacteristic outburst, Lindir hung his head down lower than usual.

Elrond's voice gentled, for he too felt the bite of disappointment as well as the relief that it was not the treasure that Sauron sought so desperately. "No."

Lindir said no more, slipping back into his role as he waited patiently.

"I need parchment after all, Lindir." Elrond said, most of his vision tumbling slowly away like so much mist. Only the image of the ring sharpened within his mind. "And Glorfindel."

o.o.o.o.o

"Where's Tauriel?" Kili yawned as he stretched and scratched at his belly.

"I thought she went up to bed." Fili said as he ate another bite from his plate. He caught Kili's dark eyes watching him. He hunched his shoulders protectively. "This wasn't Tauriel's pie. It's mine. I made it."

Beside the blond prince, Teldu grinned though her eyes remained closed as she leaned against him. "It was his first. It burned."

"Just a bit crunchy." Grumped Fili. "The fruit is still good."

"You two were both there, how could the pie have burned?" Kili asked and then when two pairs of blue eyes blinked innocently at him he flushed a bit. "Never mind. My wife? Looking for my wife."

"Upstairs. Bed." Fili pointed rudely with his fork, a crumb falling into his lap. Teldu frowned and brushed it away. He grinned. "You missed, it's a bit to the left." He said, trying to hide the suggestiveness of his suggestion.

Teldu's hand hesitated as she nearly fell for it. When she realized what Fili was hoping for she yanked her hand away and jabbed him with her elbow.

"The other left." Fili humphed, closing one eye in reaction to the strike.

Kili sighed, shaking his head. "I was just upstairs, Tauriel's not there. Thought she might be hungry." Which explained why he was in the kitchen in the small hours of the morning. "Why is Teldu still here?"

The dwarrowdam smiled and rubbed her cheek against Fili's shoulder. "Too cold, and it started snowing again."

"Dern and his family are bunking in the library." Fili nodded, licking the last of the pie filling off of his fork.

"Looks like one is bunking in the kitchen." Kili said dryly, crossing his arms across his chest made muscular by a lifetime spent with weapons, though not as wide as those more used to using a forge.

Teldu smirked. "I got hungry."

Dark eyes slowly blinked at that statement. "So why is HE the one eating?" Kili shook his head. "No. Stop. I don't care. I'm just trying to find Tauriel."

"Not in the kitchen." Teldu said quietly. "Or the library."

"Are her cloak and boots still by the door?" Fili asked, clearly not worried. Where could one pregnant she-elf go in the middle of the night in a snow storm? She was in the house somewhere, curled up with a book or something.

Kili growled at his brother's lazy attitude and marched heavily over to the utility area. There were rows of wooden pegs and benches, with cubbies and shelving for boots and other outdoor gear. His eyes scanned the room and his breath hitched. "She's gone out."

His brother's words caught Fili mid-yawn and he started coughing in reaction. Standing dislodged Teldu who had been drifting off to sleep. Startled she caught herself before falling and blinked pale-blue eyes at Fili's back. She heard him question his brother.

Kili moved back into sight, framed in the doorway leading to the utility area. "I mean her cloak and boots aren't here."

"She has more than one set." Fili said, his jaw firming as he moved to the window, peering out into the darkness but seeing nothing but the faint glow of the houses of distant neighbors.

Kili didn't bother to respond. Yes, they all had more than one set of boots and cloaks, but if they were to use another set then the ones hanging in the utility room would still be there, not gone.

"Astald?" Teldu said, rising with a small groan. "Could she have taken the dog out?"

Kili and Fili immediately relaxed. Of course.

Kili frowned sharply and stuck his bare feet into his boots, hissing as they were still a bit damp from the ice and snow he'd been out tramping in earlier in the day.

"You're not dressed to go out." Fili eyed his younger sibling critically. The brunet was half-undressed, probably getting ready for bed. He didn't even have his woolens on from the look of his shirt stretching over his shoulders.

"You volunteering?"

Fili snarled back at his brother's surly tone. "Go get dressed, by the time you do I'm sure Tauriel will be back with Astald."

Kili rammed his arms through his heavy fur coat and grabbed for his cloak, making plenty of noise as he prepared to go out into the freezing night. He glared at his brother without answering just as Astald, alerted by the commotion, came running up with his tail wagging. Someone was going outside and he wanted to go too.

Fili, Teldu and Kili stared down at the dog for half a second. Fili tossed his forgotten fork onto the table and started to change into his outdoor boots as well.

Astald whined and stood up on his hind legs, pawing at the door.

Kili tried to shoo the mutt away with his boot as he opened the door, grinding his teeth together as snow blew in upon him. He shivered, ignoring the temperature.

"Take the dog." Fili barked out the order as he grabbed his thick coat, surprised to see Teldu next to him holding out his cloak. He grunted until she grabbed her own coat, wondering if it was worth taking the time to argue with her. He decided not.

"Can't follow a scent trail." Kili muttered as Astald tried to get back to the door.

"Loves Tauriel, might be able to find her." Fili said quietly.

Kili stilled, grunted and nodded. He stepped aside as Astald ran outside, whined, turned three times and ran back into the house to shake himself off in the kitchen. Kili said something dark and threatening as he stalked outside.

Teldu and Fili came out a beat behind him. The dwarrowdam frowned. "She must not have come out this way, I don't see any broken snow."

"She walks over it." Kili and Fili said in unison, then shared a grim look between them.

"Elves are lighter and can run over snow without leaving a trace." Kili continued as his eyes scanned the area, adjusting to the darkness. As his gaze moved over the area they stopped at the entrance to the Coppernose mine. "Light."

Teldu squinted. "Or reflection, I can't tell." She said, thinking perhaps something shiny was catching the light from the household instead.

Fili grunted, it was as good a place to start as any.

o.o.o.o.o

King Dain was purposefully alone in his large study. It was late, very late, but he was waiting for something in particular. When the double doors slammed open hard enough to rattle he smiled before turning.

Gloin looked as red in the face as his beard. Dain's eyebrows quirked up. If he'd had doubts about his distant cousin knowing about the Line's continuation, they were gone now. "I see you've heard?" He said blithely.

Gloin stalked into the room, his eyes ablaze and his lips so hard pressed together they were white. He growled, unable to speak.

Dain gestured at a small keg decorated with gold hoops holding the oaken staves together. Why in the world he had to have a precious metal decorating his ale reserve, he didn't know. It was just too low on his priorities list to ask, though it amused him somehow.

Gloin growled louder, clearly not in the mood for even a drink. Dain went over and served himself, gesturing for his guards to seal the door and leave them in privacy.

The red-bearded warrior-merchant was breathing heavily, nearly labored, while staring at the fire in the hearth.

Dain was nearly done with his second mug of ale when Gloin gave himself a mighty shake and turned. "How long?"

The king eyed the other dwarrow and nodded slowly. "I found out within the past day or so." He then raised a finger to his lips before raising his arm and pointing to each corner of the room.

Ears were everywhere.

Gloin reigned himself back, still breathing heavily, his fists clenching and unclenching.

"Oin could tell you more."

Gloin flinched visibly and shook his head. "He'll have to wait for the swelling to go down before he'll be able to speak." He said darkly.

Dain fought a smile as he nodded, though he wasn't without sympathy. For both Oin and Gloin. "Balin?" He dared to ask.

"In the healing halls." Gloin roared, then apologized as he lowered his voice. "In the bed next to my brother."

"What will you do?" Dain asked point blank.

Gloin gave him a hard stare and then shook his head. "Not a damnable thing. Not one thing."

Surprised, the king again gestured toward the ale.

The red-bearded warrior sighed and waved off the offer as he turned to stare at the royal crest of Durin's Line over the mantel. "They're dead."

Dain hesitated, then shrugged. "Of course." His words hinted at many things.

Gloin didn't bother trying to decipher the king's message. "To me. They are dead. I attended their funerals. I wept for them." He made a gesture of finality.

Dain watched, feeling vindicated in his distant cousin's reaction. Still. It rankled, but he had to be fair. "They had reason." He admitted.

Gloin spun, his temper spiking high again. "Not good enough. Coward's way. The Line died that day."

The king blinked and gave a slow nod, though he was hearing his own words thrown back at him, it still didn't sit right. "You make me defend their actions."

"No!" Gloin made a few more hand signs, indicating he was resolute in his stance.

"Gloin. Cousin." Dain took a deep breath. "I would have worn the crown, one way or another." It was nearly cathartic, saying his deepest thoughts aloud. "There would have been funerals regardless. Perhaps more than the battle could have accounted for."

Gloin heard the king's admission and took his time digesting the information. He nodded, indicating he'd heard. Finally he headed over and poured himself a mug of ale. After he'd drained half of it he finally spoke. "You came out of it."

"Not in time." Dain said slowly, meaningfully.

"You defend ….this?" Gloin said, hesitating over his words as he remembered the king's warning of possibly illicit ears listening in.

"Surprises me too." Dain chuckled dryly. When Gandalf and Balin had tried to excuse the true heirs over their disappearance he'd been free to rant and rave about it. But in the face of Gloin's strong disapproval he was able to finally step back and be more objective on the matter. "They look to Khazad-dum."

Gloin's head came up and he hesitated before shaking his head. "They're welcome to it." His voice showed he would not be joining in that endeavor, though he did not wish them doom. "What of you?"

Dain shrugged, finishing off his ale and contemplating a third. "I am King Under the Mountain." He said, then stopped. He'd meant to say more, but really, didn't what he'd just said sum it all up?

Gloin grunted in approval. "What of the elves?"

Dain nodded, knowing without being told that his young cousins had to have had help getting free of Erebor. The Humans he dismissed, having settled in his mind on a more likely culprit. "We carry on and say nothing."

Gloin grunted in disapproval, though not disagreement. He shuddered. "I will strive to ensure that Gimli knows that elves can never be trusted." He vowed, lifting his mug.

Dain nodded, getting a third mug for himself in order to toast properly. When he turned back toward Gloin, the two stared at each other, both awkward in the moment.

What could he toast? What could they call upon? Honor? The Line? The future? The kingdom? All was in question. The very core of them shaken.

Finally Gloin cleared his throat and lifted his ale. "To Thorin."

"The best of us." Dain grumped, missing his cousin more now than ever before. "Who taught us that the impossible …" His voice caught.

"The impossible should be grabbed around the throat and shaken like a goblin." Gloin finished.

Both dwarrow stared at each other and then laughed at themselves outrageously, clanking their mugs together so hard they split and only part of the ale got to their mouths as it soaked the expensive rug beneath their feet.

Both turned to look up at the royal crest, their laughter slowly stilling so that they could hear the quiet sounds of the fire in the hearth. "To the impossible." Dain murmured.

Gloin nodded, still angry, so angry. He would never forgive this. Yet …yet, something dark and tight within him started to loosen just enough so that he could breathe properly for the first time since that last battle. "To the impossible." He said reluctantly.

o.o.o.o.o

Fili turned the corner in the tunnel and stared at the she elf standing in the large stone chamber. He whistled long and loud to alert the others who were checking other parts of the mine.

Tauriel had heard him coming, of course, and wasn't startled in the slightest. She turned her green eyes on her dwarven brother.

"You are in so much trouble." Fili whispered, shaking his head.

Tauriel's brows furrowed in question just as the sound of Kili's boots grew louder as he rushed into the chamber followed closely by Teldu.

Kili stopped shy of her and glared. "Did you not hear me yelling for you?"

Tauriel blinked, not answering because of course she'd heard him. "The mine isn't that large."

Kili's eyes nearly bulged, so wide did they grow. She sounded so …so …calm! "I was worried sick!"

Fili gestured for Teldu to follow and the duo ducked out of the stone chamber to leave the married couple alone. They wanted no part of this.

Dern looked up as they made it back to the warmth of the kitchen, having divested themselves of their winter-sodden outerwear in the utility area. "There you are. Sneaking off like that, poor form."

Fili's mouth twitched. "We were just …"

"Spare a poor papa the excuses, I can see my daughter's cheeks are red and her braids are askew."

"Really, adad, we were just …" Teldu tried, and stilled as her father waved a hand at her.

"Look." Dern grumped. "I know you're both of age and I understand, but you're still my baby dwarrowdam and regardless of how high his name is it's no excuse to be sneaking around for such things. You're engaged. Act with some decorum if you please."

Fili sighed, not even bothering to explain himself as Nurbera walked into the kitchen blinking weary eyes at everyone. "Well?"

Teldu looked at her mother. "Tauriel slipped outside to the mine and Kili couldn't find her, we were helping him look."

Dern laughed. "You two need a better story than that!" He shook his head at them and gestured for his family to follow.

Nurbera sighed and signaled Teldu to follow Dern. She looked over at Fili. "Tauriel all right?"

"If Kili doesn't strangle her for worrying him." He responded, then smiled sadly. "You believe us?"

"Pitiful story, so it has to be true." Nurbera clucked her tongue. "Besides, the she-elf is pregnant. I remember those days, and the wild thoughts that crossed my mind.

"You'll talk to Dern?"

"Perhaps." Nurbera laughed at her future son, and king. It still boggled her mind to no end. "Tell me you didn't sneak a kiss at any time tonight."

Fili said nothing, his blue eyes shining with resignation.

"I thought so." The dwarrowdam spoke gently, smiling at him. "Go to bed Fili. Alone. Let my daughter's hand heal from your blades before trying such again."

Startled, Fili visibly jumped. "That's not what happened!" He rushed out the lie with a blush.

Nurbera shook her finger at him. "I wondered, now I know."

Fili watched her go and turned around the empty kitchen wondering how his night had gone down the privy hole, so to speak.

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel frowned at her husband, reaching out to brush snow out of his hair though most of it melted at her touch. "You need to dry yourself before you catch cold."

"What, elves can avoid falling snow as easily as they walk above it?" Snarked Kili unhappily.

The pregnant red-head shook her head. "How would you heat these rooms in the winter? How would the ventilation work? Would the floors remain dirt?"

Kili blinked at her, then blinked again for good measure as his brain scrambled to keep up with her. "What?" He failed to see why she was asking these type of questions.

"Bofur said something about moving out here."

Dark eyes closed as the young husband took a deep, cleansing breath in the hope of gathering the tatters of his patience. "That was a ruse to get you out of the house." He said, and at her blank look he continued. "So that we could set up for the celebration in secret."

"I know."

He sighed, lifting his eyebrows. "So what are you asking?"

Tauriel looked around. "How would you make this a livable space?"

Kili glanced around the stone chamber lit by two torches, his and hers. The light cast shadows on the stone roof, but he could rely on memory to know the rocks up there were not smooth nor pretty. "You mean like Erebor? Generations." He paused, reconsidering his answer as it pertained to an immortal elf. "Several centuries."

"No. Not like your mountain kingdom with all its fine decorations and carvings and statues." Tauriel said a bit tartly. "I mean how could we make this space livable, for us?"

Kili shook his head, then sighed as he realized what she was asking. "You mean for Dwalin and the others. Don't worry, the thought of moving you out here was really only a ruse. The plan has been to get it ready to house other dwarrow as they arrive. The house is getting too crowded already."

Tauriel walked away from him, looking around the area as she carried her torch with her, peering out into the large chamber. "And how long would that take?"

"Can't we finish this conversation inside?" Kili shivered in his cloak. Now that he'd found his wife alive and hale, he was starting to feel the cold. When she said nothing and didn't look in his direction he rolled his expressive eyes behind her back. "Not long, they're used to living rough."

"And if I want flooring? Stone or wood would be best?"

Kili stared at his wife's back as if she'd gone mad. "Flooring?"

"And a nursery." Tauriel continued. "Kitchen? Or perhaps we should continue our meals in the main house. Still, it wouldn't be bad to have a small eating area with storage and preparation space."

"Dwalin and Nori don't need much." Kili said, skipping over the brief conversations he'd had with his dwarven family about who would be housed where. Certainly the two bachelors, and anyone else that might arrive, would not need a nursery.

"This space is better defensively than the house."

Kili had to stretch to hear her whisper, but when he did decipher her words he moved over to her. Wrapping his arms around her, he offered her all that he was. "We can make the house safe."

"Not as safe as we can make these chambers." Tauriel said, accepting his embrace but not his words. "Kili, I ….I never considered living below ground, but now that the idea is with me it won't leave again."

"I know you've worried over our safety, and we have worked out defensive plans for the house. All of us together." He reminded her she'd been part of that.

"This feels ….right." Tauriel looked around the stone chamber. "But with floors, not dirt."

"Heating." He added.

"Ventilation." She reminded him of her earlier question.

"Of course." Kili grinned at her. "Are you sure about this?"

"More sure than I thought possible." Tauriel said, surprising even herself. "I can be calm here. I can protect this, feel safe. I can sleep here."

Kili's grin grew, and then disappeared. "Sleep? You don't mean tonight do you?" He shivered and looked a bit worried.

Tauriel laughed and shook her head. "Not tonight." She promised. "Now let's go back, it's late and cold."

Kili muttered under his breath as he followed her, something about elves stating the obvious as if it were some grand new discovery.

Tauriel's mouth twitched, although he couldn't see as he was behind her. "Don't forget to take Astald outside for a walk before coming up to bed."

Kili sighed the long put-upon sigh of many husbands, of many races, over many generations. "Of course."

o.o.o.o.o

"You sent for me?"

Lord Elrond looked up at Glorfindel as the ancient hero strode down the length of the hall to catch up with him. The two fell into step with each other, though not easily.

"You walk too fast." Glorfindel said without real complaint. It was an old conversation between the two.

"You walk too slowly." Elrond responded automatically, though he stopped and turned to face the other.

Surprised, Glorfindel halted as well. "Now that might be taking it too slowly." He said in a rare show of humor, though he did not smile.

Lord Elrond wondered, as he had for many a year, if the old warrior had been as such in his first life in Gondolin. Had his personality changed when he died and when he was sent back by the Valar? It seemed an impertinent question to ask then, and now.

"Gold ring set with a large yellow sapphire cut with the emblem of a rayed sun."

These words had Glorfindel's face shutting down all expression, his eyelids half closed and his body stilled such as if a statue.

"I thought from my history reading that the rings of your house were made with citrine."

Silence fell between the two elves, minutes turned into quarter hours and then to an actual hour. They stood alone in the hall, neither speaking nor moving. Finally Glorfindel's mouth moved to form actual words. "A gift."

"To you?" Elrond nodded thoughtfully. "So. Your personal ring." He asked no personal question though and Glorfindel subtly relaxed, though only slightly. "I have seen it."

Half-lidded eyes opened suddenly, piercingly. Glorfindel stared at Elrond as if the elf had turned into a fire drake before his very eyes.

The elf lord nodded slowly. "A vision."

"How did you know it was a yellow sapphire rather than citrine from a vision?"

Elrond smiled without humor. "In my vision I simply knew it to be."

Glorfindel accepted that without further question. "The Valar call out to me? Is it time?"

Whatever smile had grown, faded away as Elrond shook his head. "I think not, not yet. But I think it starts."

The golden-haired warrior thought of Mordor and its master. He had no doubts. "What would you have of me?"

Now there was the question. Elrond wasn't sure. The vision had called for Glorfindel, but had given little other detail. Horns sounded, trumpeting a signal of approaching visitors to Imladris. "Come. Let us find out together."

Glorfindel looked at Elrond's outreached arm that invited him to join him. He could sense the cliff before him, even if he could not yet see the sharp rocks below. He thought of his return and its singular purpose. He smiled grimly and turned, striding off to greet whomever fate had sent to arrive.

And this time it was Elrond that had to speed up his pace.


End file.
